ANN ARBOR, MI – In hopes of reducing air and noise pollution downtown, Ann Arbor has banned certain types of leaf blowers and other gasoline-powered equipment.
The City Council-approved ordinance took effect this month, prohibiting outdoor maintenance equipment with two-cycle combustion engines in the Downtown Development Authority district.
That includes equipment used to blow or collect leaves, dirt and other debris, or to trim vegetation and prune trees.
Four-cycle engines, which are considered more environmentally friendly, and electric alternatives of the same equipment, which are less noisy and do not emit exhaust, are still allowed.
A violation of the new two-cycle equipment ban is a civil infraction punishable by a fine of no less than $100 plus costs for a first offense, and no less than $250 plus costs for a subsequent offense.
Council Member Ali Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, brought forward the ordinance, which council approved in April to take effect in July.
“This has been something that I’ve thought about long before taking a seat at council,” said Ramlawi, a downtown restaurant owner who has witnessed two-cycle leaf blowers used around downtown.
They’re noisy and spew emissions into the air, and they’re often used to blow trash and debris into the street, which ends up in storm drains that flow to the Huron River, Ramlawi said.
“This helps in many different ways,” he said of banning them, arguing it’s about sustainability and fighting climate change.
“I believe the crisis that we face needs to be addressed with more ways than just spending money,” he said. “It needs to be addressed with the way we live and work.”
There’s poor air quality downtown, Ramlawi said, noting it’s been brought to his attention many times by someone who measures it.
He doesn’t see a reason to use noisy, pollution-generating equipment to blow grass clippings off a sidewalk, for instance, when a broom and dust pan would suffice, he said.
It might make some uncomfortable, he said, but the inconvenient truth is “we have to change the way we do things.”
Council Members Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, and Elizabeth Nelson, D-4th Ward, joined in co-sponsoring the ordinance.
As of April, about 170 other cities, counties and states had approved similar bans, Hayner said.
For the first year, two-cycle chainsaws are exempt if used by a city employee, city contractor or utility worker to prune trees, or when a power lift or bucket truck is required to safely prune trees.
Hayner said he has sympathy for lawn care contractors concerned about the cost to replace their two-cycle gear with four-cycle or electric gear, but he’s still happy to put the ban in place.
“I actually use gasoline engines in my graffiti-removal business, but I have four-stroke — they run pretty clean,” he said. “I don’t have to run them for too long, and then the rest of my gear is electric.”
Hayner said he was shocked by a hydrocarbon emissions analysis that showed using a two-cycle leaf blower for a half hour was equal to driving a Ford F-150 Raptor more than 3,800 miles.
“That tells you all you need to know,” he said.
Council Member Kathy Griswold, D-2nd Ward, said she recently bought an electric leaf blower.
“It runs for about 75 minutes … and it blows out at 140 mph, so I’m very effective,” she said.
Nelson suggested the city should consider extending the ban on two-cycle equipment citywide at some point.
The DDA has shared the city’s ordinance with downtown business associations and property owners.
“It’s been well received by the downtown community,” Ramlawi said. “I have not heard or received any complaints about issues to date.”
Council members acknowledge there may be a separate litter problem to address.
Echoing some of Ramlawi’s concerns, Hayner said he has seen leaf blowers used frequently to blow garbage into streets.
“I’ve taken videos of people blowing their garbage into the streets repeatedly,” he said.