Cleaner air and quieter neighborhoods may be on the horizon.
The City of Miami’s Climate Resilience Committee has passed a resolution calling on the City to phase out gasoline-powered leaf blowers. Citing health, noise, and climate-related concerns, the non-binding resolution will be taken up as a discussion item at the March 14 City Commission meeting. If it gains support, the commission could instruct staff to draft an ordinance adopting a full or partial ban.
“We need to transition to more sustainable practices,” says Aaron DeMayo, an urban planner who chairs the Climate Resilience Committee, an appointed advisory body to the full commission. The resolution points out that a gas-powered leaf blower emits the same amount of smog-forming emissions in one hour as an automobile driving from Miami to Baltimore.
DeMayo says the initiative came in response to a tweet in November by hurricane specialist and TV personality John Morales challenging the City to follow the lead of Miami Beach and South Miami, whose bans on leaf blowers went into effect last year. Key Biscayne passed a similar law in 2018.
“Public comment on the resolution has been overwhelmingly positive,” says DeMayo. “The overall community benefit of a transition away from gas is enormous.”
To learn more about how Miami Beach is enforcing the ban, click here.
To read the Climate Resilience Committee resolution, which contains a detailed rationale for the leaf blower recommendation, click here.
