Village Cracks Down on Gas Leaf Blowers and Leaf Piles

I looked out my back window yesterday morning and saw a tall blond policewoman speaking to our landscaper -- who was holding a gas powered leaf blower. I couldn’t hear the conversation but quickly realized that gas leaf blowers are now banned on Mondays – so she was either warning him to stop using the blower or serving him with a summons.

In the past few weeks, I have noticed that the police are increasing their enforcement of a law that bans the use of gas powered leaf blowers from Saturday – Monday from October 1 to December 31 and also issuing summons for leaf piles in the street.

Here is the law pertaining to gas powered leaf blowers: “The use of gasoline powered blowers shall be permitted in the Village from October 1 through December 31, which includes the Village Fall Leaf Collection Program season but only Tuesday through Friday, but not on Federal legal holidays. Electric or battery powered blowers are not subject to these restrictions.”

Running afoul of this regulation can be expensive, very expensive. A friend reports that her elderly parents were given a $500 summons when their landscaper used the gas leaf blowers at an unauthorized time. What’s more, police gave another $500 summons to the individual with the leaf blower and another $500 summons to his employer. All in all the violation resulted in $1,500 in fees. However, the Village Court Clerk maintains that the highest fine is $250, not $500.

Scarsdale Police say, “Regarding the gas-powered blowers – yes – both the landscaper using the tool and the homeowner can be issued summonses, as well as the company itself, totaling three summonses during each enforcement action.”

Deputy Village Manager Alexandra Marshall clarified the policy. Here is what she said. "Upon witnessing a leaf blower violation, the enforcement officer issues leaf blower court appearance tickets to the landscaping company conducting the work, the actual worker using the leaf blower, and the property owner. Regarding leaf piles, the property owner typically receives the ticket because the landscaping company is often not around when the ticket is being issued. Once the tickets are issued, those who are ticketed appear in Court to discuss the fines with the Village Prosecutor. The fine amounts are at the discretion of the Judge, the minimum amount being $75.00, the maximum being $250.00. Higher amounts are typically given for repeat offenses."

And be warned: Leaf removal is getting more and more expensive every day. If you can mulch mow, you're probably better off.