On Tuesday, the Walnut Creek City Council agreed to a community-wide ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, however, not until April 1, 2026.
this ordinance would prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers for anyone in the City of Walnut Creek, including City staff and contractors working on City-owned property. The only exemptions listed in the ordinance are for emergency cases as approved by the City or other first responders. This includes when responding to an emergency or as necessary to restore or protect life or property.
Staff had suggested the ordinance begin 30-days after the second reading which would have placed the oridnace start date of Dec 18, 2025, however, the council opted for more time to implement and assist residents in getting through the winter months. The council also agreed to bring back discussions around noise and funding opportunities in the coming months, along with an increased educational period before citations would be issued.
While the council was in favor of the gas powered leaf blower ban, they were also cognizant of many unintended consequences in doing so during their discussion.
Wilk also asked what the city of Walnut Creek was doing with its own leaf blowers. Staff responded they have began transitioning over the past year and a half – they now have 15-20 leaf blowers. They have also focused 95% of their efforts with the electric leaf blowers noting that with heavy rains they would get the gas powered leaf blowers out.
Wilk followed up asking what they would do after 30 days, would the gas powered be used at a 5% rate?
Staff replied, they could use them in emergency situations/public safety such as heavy rains and leaves created a safety issue.
After public comments, mostly in support of the item, Wilk said he was going to support the item calling it important, but offered caution at simply flipping the switch. He urged the council to be careful based on a call he had with the Santa Barbara mayor who called him to highlight they were inundated with police department calls, neighbors turning in neighbors while turning people into whistleblowers while social media blew up.
“If you thought Nextdoor was bad before, be prepared because Nextdoor is just going to be people calling out other people, their neighbors. Social media on Facebook is going to be horrific. Just be prepared that you are going to turn the community into chronic busy bodies,” explained Wilk noting that is what he was told Santa Barbara experienced.
Wilk noted the budget cuts the city just made and they do not have money for grants or loan program like other cities do, but there are concerns that would overload police and make social media more of a problem than it already was.
Wilk also stated unintended consequences of someone calling ICE on a landscaper who is a minority with a gas-powered lawnmower—calling it not out of the realm of possibility.
“I think these are serious unintended consequences that we are going to have to address if we approve this,” said Wilk again saying he supports it but they also do not need to have blinders on.
Councilmember Craig Devinney agreed there would be challenges but believed it would settle down over time. He proposed that in addition to the ordinance, they include hours where leaf blowers may be used – 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays and 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekends. He also suggested a decibels limit for leaf blowers – to address the noise, such as 60 decibels. He also wanted a rebate program of $25k to $50k to help people transition.
He then suggested in the future they begin plans to transition other city equipment to electric.
Councilmember Cindy Silva said from a health standpoint and a sustainability standpoint this was the right thing to do, but expressed concerns on how staff was proposing they implement this.
“I would say that my interpretation of phased in is different than the interpretation that we are receiving tonight. Doing three years of outreach when we didn’t really know what the outreach really was and couldn’t offer advice on it is different from actually a phased in approach,” explained Silva noting the adoption of resolution, have a timeframe and you have to comply at different stages. “I am struggling with the implementation.”
She said Walnut Creek had to be mindful of the aging population who have landscapers they may lose because they do not go to electric leaf blowers—those landscapers can go to another city and pick up businesses. She said this was another unintended consequence.
She urged the council to consider a phased approach that would “slow roll” this to not prevent loss of business, jobs, services within the city. She was a “yes” for the policy but wanted to address concerns.
Councilmember Matt Francois called it the right thing to do but shared the concerns as other councilmembers including cost on small businesses. He shared that at some point that people/business would have to move to electric or just not do business in Walnut Creek. He was in support of the ban and in favor of a phased implementation.
Mayor Cindy Darling called this ordinance something Walnut Creek needed but November was not the time to implement this, suggested 120-days and kick in the ordinance March 2026.
“We are not going to chase down the individual landscapers, it’s an obligation that is on the property owner or homeowner,” said Darling noting a homeowner could even provide a landscaper an electric leaf-blower to use on their property.
She suggested by moving to a March 2026 implementation, it gives the city more time to educate the public and allow people to get ready for the switchover from gas powered too electric powered. She then suggested no one would get a ticket for another 90 days, and education would continue.
Francois said he believed that approach made sense to allow people to get through winter and allows more flexibility.
The council opted against a rebate at this time.
Mayor Darling motioned that Walnut Creek amend the draft ordinance to allow implementation until April 1, 2026 – which will be brought back Nov 18 for a second reading. Then at a future meeting not yet determined, bring back information on noise and possible regional rebate funding possibilities efforts—including time of day and noise levels.
The item was approved in a 5-0 vote.
Within the staff report, Walnut Creek sited gasoline-powered leaf blowers create air pollution and pose health risks to operators and individuals who are nearby. They also site AB 1346, which was approved in 2021 and began in 2024, which prohibits the sale of new small off-road engines, including lawn equipment.
Meanwhile, over 100 cities in California have restrictions or bans on leaf blowers, including Lafayette, Pleasanton, Piedmont, Emeryville, Novato and Oakland.
Previous
- Nov 4 – Walnut Creek Set to Ban Gas Powered Leaf Blowers
- Oct 25, 2025 – Lafaytte: Use an Electric Blower or Rake Those Leaves
- June 29, 2024 – Lafayette: Gas-Power Leaf Blower Ban Begins July 1
