Woodside considers exemptions to gas leaf blower ban

The town of Woodside continues to navigate the prohibition of gas-powered leaf blowers as it catches up to neighboring towns and cities that have already outlawed the equipment. On Dec. 9, the Town Council voted to introduce a new section of the drafted ordinance that exempts properties located in special conservation planning and open space zoning districts from the ban. 

As of Jan. 1, 2024, California has banned the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers under Assembly Bill 1346. In response, local jurisdictions such as Portola Valley, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Burlingame and Atherton have adopted ordinances prohibiting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.

The draft is in response to previous comments from residents in the Western Hills neighborhood who expressed their concerns about the ineffective power of electric leaf blowers which make it difficult to maintain their properties for fire mitigation and clean up. Parcels in the Western Hills are larger, secluded and located in heavily wooded areas. 

The ordinance would enforce the use of electric leaf blowers in more densely populated areas of Woodside but would not enforce the ban during emergencies and weather related events. 

In Town Manager Jason Ledbetter’s presentation, he explained that this ban would support the town’s goals to maintain the peace and tranquility of the town by minimizing noise disturbances. He added that enforcements would be made by the town in a more flexible manner through education and incentives. 

“Most of the community probably won’t be aware of an ordinance like this and ultimately when complaints come in, it gives the opportunity for the residents to complain to the town and the town takes the steps of educating and 99% of the time, we gain compliance in that fashion,” Ledbetter explained. 

Woodside resident David Discher, who lives on a one-acre lot, suggested that exemptions also be made for suburban residential properties just as the draft exempts special conservation planning districts that are five acres or larger. 

“The electric lead blowers are just not as efficient. Let alone they run out of power,” Discher said. “If you have a property like an SR-1 property of an acre and you have enough trees, they take a lot of time to do the job.”

Council member Paul Goeld pointed out that with the state ban, gas-powered leaf blowers will “go away organically by natural attrition.”

Council member Wall added that other jurisdictions have moved forward in banning gas-powered leaf blowers and Woodside has been an outlier in not adopting a prohibition yet. She expressed her support for adopting the ordinance to address concerns about the noise and air pollution that comes from the equipment. 

Mayor Brian Dombkowski shared that this ban had been in consideration for seven years — since he first joined the council. 

“I get that not everybody will be perfectly happy but I think after seven years of iterations on this, this does move the ball down the field pretty substantially and we can take a look at it over a couple of years,” he said. 

The Town Council unanimously voted to move forward in the consideration of this ordinance and plans to adopt it during the Jan. 13, 2026, meeting, according to the staff report. If adopted, the ban on gas-powered leaf blowers will go into effect on July 1, 2026. 

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