Threat to Montgomery County gas-powered leaf blower ban averted: The full ban (with $500 fines) went into effect on July 1. A proposed amendment to the ban, supported by four Montgomery County Council members, requested an exemption for commercial landscaping businesses during fall leaf cleanup, from October thru December for the next three years. A public hearing on the proposal was held July 15th with numerous speakers – about half pro and half con. Some big landscaping companies reported that they had already spent as much as $250,000 but were not yet able to comply fully with the ban. Some of the tired old arguments were made – e.g., inadequate power of electric blowers, higher prices for customers, companies going out of business. The final speaker, a Latina landscaper, made an eloquent case for the ban which protects worker and bystander health. The Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee took up the issue on July 28 and killed the bill that would have weakened the ban.
QC NOVA’s July 16 meeting focused primarily on arrangements for our participation in the upcoming Arlington County Fair (August 15-17) and on continued discussion of how to best position ourselves for success in the 2026 General Assembly session – e.g., whether to introduce our bill in both the House and Senate or in just one chamber and who to try to line up as the best sponsors of the bill. We heard the great news from our Richmond outpost that a member of the Richmond City Council is looking into ways to amend the noise ordinance to effectively ban gas leaf blowers. His announcement mentioned noise pollution and the harmful emissions and cited the recent Alexandria City ban. And David Jimenez, the owner of the all electric Little Foot Eco-Friendly Lawncare that serves Falls Church, Lake Barcroft, McLean, Tysons, Vienna, and North Arlington, presented his plans to grow the company given the high demand that he cannot currently meet.
Fun at the Arlington County Fair: Many thanks to those who volunteered to staff our table at the August 15-17 Arlington County Fair. And a special thanks to Lisa Mendis who coordinated our participation at the fair which was designed to educate people about the gas-powered leaf blower threats to our health and our environment and to encourage people to transition to electric. Most who stopped by the table who had their own blowers had already gone electric. We need to reach and educate more people who hire commercial landscapers that use gas blowers.
Arlington Green Communities Event: Quiet Clean Virginia Foundation will also have a table at the 22nd Annual Arlington Green Community Tour & Celebration on Sunday September 14. The table will be at the Central Library on Quincy Street from 10:30-12:30. Please consider volunteering to staff the table for an hour or two as we build support for banning gas-powered leaf blowers in Arlington!
Meetings with Virginia legislators and staff continue: Jim Gillespie met with Delegate David Bulova August 12 to update him on our plans for legislation during the 2026 General Assembly session, including possible variations in language of a bill. Avril Garland and a constituent of Senator Pekarsky (Senate District 36) met with the senator’s staffer on August 14 for the same purpose and will hope to meet with the senator herself soon. Dave Fitzgerald will meet with Senator Jennifer Boysko (Senate District 38) on August 19.