For 2026, Fairfax City has included control of gas leaf blowers on its legislative wishlist to the GA.
Falls Church City has done likewise – as it did for the 2025 GA session.
A Quiet Clean NOVA member spoke before the Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC)
From an email from Supervisor James Walkinshaw sent Nov 30th:
Wed, Nov 29, 2023, the Alexandria delegation to the Va General Assembly hosted a pre-session town hall style meeting at Alexandria City Hall in Council Chambers. Delegates Bennett-Parker, Herring, Lopez, and Senator Ebbin were present looking to gather input from constituents on state-related issues. Two Quiet Clean NOVA members stood up and spoke about our bill, asking the delegates and senator to support it. All expressed support for the bill. Del. Herring asked about the cost to lawn care companies, but appeared convinced that the health and well being of her constituents did actually rank higher as a concern than the financial situation of landscapers.
“The Board of Supervisors 2024 legislative program to the General Assembly includes language asserting that “the state should provide localities with increased flexibility to explore initiatives that promote clean air, energy efficiency…and other critical measures that could spur the development of innovative approaches that address the impact of global climate change on health and the environment.” In my view, legislation addressing the eventual phase out of gas-powered lawn equipment would be consistent with that language and we would strongly consider any new legislation to that effect.
In response:
The language in your Legislative Program is encouraging, but I fear may not be specific enough to enable us, if we so choose, to phase-out of the sale and use of gas-powered leaf blowers as in Montgomery Ct.
Quiet Clean NOVA strongly urges that the Legislative Program add specific mentions of electrifying landscape equipment as inserted below:
Local Flexibility (page 4 of the draft program on Governance)
• The state should provide localities with increased flexibility to explore initiatives that promote clean air, energy efficiency, conservation, new investment in green construction, tree preservation, reduced waste, recycling management, transition from gas-powered to electric landscaping equipment, and other critical measures that could spur the development of innovative approaches that address the impact of global climate change on health and the environment, and increase sustainability throughout the Commonwealth.
The Environment (page 7)
• Incentivize and reduce barriers to the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to expand EV infrastructure where practicable.
Support state income tax incentives, funding, and rebates for businesses or residents to defray the cost of new construction, building improvements, electric rather than gas-powered landscaping equipment, and the transition to more efficient or alternative fuel vehicles, (including the purchase of new and used EVs,) as well as flexibility in determining rebate eligibility in high cost-of-living areas like Northern Virginia.
On November 21, 2023, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on its legislative program for the General Assembly. Two Quiet Clean NOVA members testified by phone and others did so by email asking that local control of gas leaf blowers be included in the package. (So far, only two NOVA jurisdictions have included local control of gas leaf blowers in their legislative programs: the City of Alexandria and the City of Falls Church.)
One member’s email: “Two years ago, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9 to 1 for a joint measure to phase out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on Fairfax County property and switch to electric leaf blowers. That was a commendable action. But sadly, in our neighborhoods, little has changed. Gas-powered leaf blowers continue to operate in numbers that disturb the peace and potentially even damage hearing with penetrating noise, poison the air with toxic emissions, create a level of stress that leads to adverse health consequences for humans and wildlife alike, and jeopardize the wellbeing of low-wage workers who operate them. Your citizens need your help. I strongly urge you to include in your 2024 legislative package to the General Assembly support for legislation that would grant localities in the State of Virginia the authority to ban, restrict or otherwise regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Our very quality of life is at stake.”