DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Officials at Dallas City Hall are considering new regulations that could affect the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the city. Dallas already restricts the hours those leaf blowers can be used.
"There’s a host of environmental and public health reasons not to have these around," said Council Member Philip Kingston. In addition to the noise, he cited the air pollution from the exhaust from the machines' gas engines.
During a meeting of the City Council's Quality of Life Committee on Monday, Council Members were shown data that the city received 14 noise complaints specifically citing noise blowers in 2018. Dallas receives about 1,300 noise-related complaints each year.
Other cities have passed tighter restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers. Santa Monica, California has instituted a complete ban on both gas and electric-powered blowers. Washington, D.C. will institute a ban on gas-powered blowers in 2022.
During their discussion of the proposal on Monday, Council Members voiced concerns about the enforcement of the current noise ordinance. "It's basically not enforced," said Council Member Sandy Greyson, "because the officer has to actually hear it."
Council Member Philip Kingston agreed the existing rules could be more strictly enforced. "Our noise ordinance currently as written would apply to mobile sources - motorcycles, leaf blowers, anything else that makes too much noise," he said. "It's just administratively we're not enforcing it.'
Enforcement of that city ordinance is handled by the Dallas Police Department, which has faced issues recently with staffing levels and response times .
City staffers advised the Council Members that any policy changes regarding the enforcement of the noise ordinance should be coordinated with the Police Department, so the Quality of Life Committee agreed to refer the issue to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee.