New Birmingham ordinance could ban gas-powered leaf blowers in the city in favor of electric blowers

BIRMINGHAM (WWJ) — As we flip the calendar to fall, we’ll soon start seeing the leaves on the trees changing color, and before we know it, they’ll be all over the ground.

That means it’s almost time to bust out the leaf blower. But before long, if you live in the city of Birmingham, you better make sure it’s an electric one.

The Birmingham City Commission on Monday night will meet to discuss a new ordinance that would ban gas powered leaf blowers in the city by the summer of 2026.

Last year the commission passed a resolution in support of a ban eliminating the use of two-stroke gas powered leaf blowers by July 1, 2026 and is currently in the process of drafting ordinance language related to the proposed ban and is seeking direction on next steps.

The commission says the purpose is “to protect the peace, health, safety, and welfare” of people in the city and to “promote the city’s sustainability goals by reducing noise, pollution, and other negative effects from leaf blowers.”

Discussions surrounding the proposed ordinance began with a workshop in October 2022 regarding the goals of any future studies into leaf blowers. In August 2023 the city’s Planning Department “presented a more in-depth review of the problems that leaf blowers pose, specifically two-stroke gas powered leaf blowers and distilled the issues down to three main categories: emissions, noise and environment.”

A month later the commission moved to adopt a resolution to phase out two-stroke gas powered leaf blowers and now it is looking to finalize the language of the ordinance.

On Monday WWJ’s Tim Pamplin stopped by the Home Depot store on Coolidge to get reaction from residents, with a split decision on whether they like the idea.

“They say two-stroke motors actually put out more emissions than even your everyday regular engine, so I think we should go that way. I have a lot of battery-charged items at home right now,” one man said.

Another man, Dave, said he learned about the efforts to ban them when he went to buy a gas powered blower from a local hardware store and he thinks it’s “ridiculous.”

Birmingham wouldn’t be the first Michigan community to pass such an ordinance. Last year the city of Ann Arbor passed an ordinance banning gas powered leaf blowers during the summer months with an eye on a total ban by 2028.

The conversation continues Monday night with the City Commission meeting at 7:30 p.m.

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