sr-091410-7cCity Council Meeting: September 14, 2010
Agenda Item: ~ _C
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Dean Kubani, Director -Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Subject: Proposed Ordinance Amending the Leaf Blower Ordinance
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Council:
1. Introduce for first reading the attached Ordinance amending Santa Monica
Municipal Code Chapter 4.08.270 to hold property owners, water customers,
owners and operators of gardening or landscape maintenance services, property
management companies, and leaf blower operators responsible for adhering to
the prohibition against use of motorized leaf blowers.
2. Charge the Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE) with increased
public outreach and enforcement, including the ability to issue administrative
citations for any violation of this Ordinance.
Executive Summary
Operation of motorized leaf blowers is prohibited within the City. Santa Monica Police
Department Officers now enforce the ordinance by direct observation and issue the
operator with a misdemeanor or infraction citation, with limited effectiveness. The
proposed program and amended ordinance holds property owners, water customers,
owners and operators of gardening or landscape maintenance services, property
management companies, and leaf blower operators accountable. The Office of
Sustainability and the Environment (OSE) would conduct public education and
enforcement through use of administrative citations. The one-year cost for additional
staff and outreach materials is $54,992.
Background
The City of Santa Monica first adopted restrictions on leaf blower operation in 1991, and
amended the code in 1995. The existing code is targeted at users of motorized leaf
blowers. Violation of the ordinance, which must be witnessed by a police officer, is an
infraction or misdemeanor, punishable by fine and/or imprisonment. At the January 19,
2010 Council meeting, Council directed staff to prepare options for amendments to the
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existing leaf blower ordinance. At the June 15. 2010 meeting, Council adopted a
FY2010-11 budget which included $55,000 for leaf blower ban enforcement by OSE,
subject to a program.
Discussion
Restrictions on leaf blower operation, which were adopted in response to noise and.
nuisance concerns, fall within the City's Public Welfare, Morals and Policy Code section,
and are currently enforced by the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD). Within this
model, efforts to curb. leaf blower use have been focused on enforcement by a police
officer who witnesses the operation and issues an infraction or a misdemeanor citation.
The difficulty of timely direct observation, in addition to modest public knowledge of the
restrictions, has limited the ordinance's effectiveness.
Similar ordinances, including urban runoff and water conservation requirements, are
currently managed and enforced by OSE. Violations of those ordinances are punishable
by an administrative citation when informational and educational efforts fail to result in
corrective action. The citations are appealable to a Hearing Examiner.
The proposed modification to the existing leaf blower ordinance holds multiple
individuals responsible for adherence to the law, including but not limited to: property
owners, water customers, owners and operators of gardening or landscape
maintenance services, property management companies, and leaf blower operators,
instead of solely leaf blower operators.
Education and enforcement of this ordinance would be managed by OSE rather than
the SMPD in a manner similar to that employed for the City's water conservation and
urban runoff ordinances. Staff would patrol the City looking for violations as well as
conduct site visits in response to alerts from community members. If a leaf blower is
seen in use, staff would inform the operator of the law, take a photo if possible, and then
send a warning letter and photo to the involved parties (which may include but is not
limited to the property owner, water customer, leaf blower operator, employer of the leaf
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blower operator, and property management company). The letter would provide
information about the ordinance, state the violation and corrective action, and direct the
recipient to respond in writing when leaf blowers are no longer being used at the
property. At that time, compliance for that violation would be achieved. In cases where a
potential violation is reported by others but not witnessed by staff, an informational and
educational letter only would be sent to the involved parties. No warning case file would
be entered into the OSE tracking system unless the violation is witnessed by City staff.
If the violation continues, or if corrective action is not taken, the property owner or
property management company would be cited although any of the involved parties may
be cited as well. Staff would use existing City resources and databases to identify the
property owner or property management company. Similar to the penalties for the City's
urban runoff and water conservation ("No Water Waste") ordinances, an administrative
citation, appealable to a Hearing Examiner, is proposed here. The existing criminal
penalties of infraction or misdemeanor and related fines/jail time would also remain. As
is current practice, non-compliance with Administrative Citations is often first addressed
through an office conference with the City Attorney's Office, then through the court.
Should Council approve the proposed ordinance, staff will return with recommended
fines that would go into effect ih tandem with the new ordinance.
OSE would add a new 1.0 FTE to the Watershed Management Team (Team) to
effectively enforce the leaf blower ban and assume the Bay Saver program from a
consultant. (Assumption of the Bay Saver program is acost-reduction strategy included
in the FY10-11 budget.) The current Team of three staff and one consultant conduct
daily water patrols as well as respond to calls regarding violation of the "No Water
Waste" ordinance. The new person would devote half of his/her time to enforcement of
the leaf blower ban and half to the Bay Saver program. Along with leaf blower ban
education and enforcement, the staff person would enforce water efficiency and urban
runoff ordinances, ensure compliance with related fee ordinances and insurance, as
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well as process rebates for qualified water-efficient products.
Upon adoption of the proposed ordinance, a public outreach and education campaign
would be launched. Information would appear in local newspapers, on the City's
website, and on City vehicles such as buses and trash trucks. Special public meetings
would be held. On an annual basis, information would be distributed to all property
owners and City-licensed landscape maintenance companies. On an ongoing basis,
information would be distributed at Santa Monica Farmers Markets, the Santa Monica
Festival, and integrated into the curriculum for City-sponsored workshops attended by
landscape workers and homeowners.
In addition, bilingual materials and outreach would be offered. Suggestions for
alternatives to leaf blowers would also be incorporated into the City's existing bilingual
sustainable landscape maintenance series.
Staff proposes a 12-month pilot period to implement an amended ordinance, roll out the
program, patrol the city, enforce the ordinance, and track outcomes. A report on the
program's impact would be provided to Council at the conclusion of the pilot period.
Enforcement of the ordinance beyond FY 2010-11 would require additional budget
allocations to cover the cost of enforcement staff and outreach.
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Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The FY2010-11 cost for producing and distributing new education and outreach
materials, conducting public education, documenting violations, issuing administrative
warnings and citations, and assuring compliance would be $47,992 for the addition of a
0.5 FTE to the OSE enforcement Team and $7,000 in materials, a total of $54,992.
Funds are included in the FY10-11 budget at accounts 01226.510000 and
01226.522540.
Prepared by: Russell Ackerman, Water Resources Specialist
Approved:
~~~' -,
Dean Kubani
Director, Office of Sustainability and the
Environment
Forwarded to Council:
~,.
Rod Gould
City Manager
Attachments:
A: Proposed Ordinance
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City Council Meeting: September 14; 2010 Santa Monica, California
ORDINA€dCE NtlM13ER {CCS}
{City Council Series)
AN ORE}INANCE flF THE CIT°( COUNCIL flF THE CIT°t OF
SANTA MONiCA AMENDING SECTION 4.OII.270 SANTA MONICA MUNICBPAL CODE
RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS ON LEAEt3LOWER OPERATIONS
WHEREAS; the use of motorized leafbiowers adversely impacts community
health and welfare: and
WHEREAS, motorized leafblowers generate high noise levels, which disrupt
neighborhood tranquility, disturb residents, workers and visitors, and thereby degrade
the quality of life in Santa Monica; and
WHEREAS, the use of motorized ieafblowers increases the volume of particulate
matter in the air and thereby exacerbates allergies and respiratory ailments; and
WHEREAS; in order to combat these problems, the City has prohibited the use of
motorized leafbiowers for about 20 years; and
WHEREAS, despite this prohibition, and despite education and enforcement, the
use of motorized leafblowers has persisted to the community's detriment; and
WHEREAS, the persistence of this unlawful activity necessitates the adoption of
more stringent measures, including holding business and property owners responsible
for the illegal use of leafblowers by their employees or agents and on their property.
i
NOW, THEREFORE: THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.08.270 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
4.68.270 I'7e~trictlor~~ ora leaf~l~uver operatlorr
{a) Prohibitions:
{a}{~ No person shall operate any motorized
leafiblower within the City.
(2~ No owner of real property tenant in
possession of real property or .person in control of real
property shall allow the operation of a motorized leafb(ower
on the property
{3}. No person who awns or operates a
gardening, landscape maintenance or similar service shall
allow an employee or agent of that service to operate a
motorized leafblower within the City.
{b~ Penalties and Remedies:
{b}~ Any person violating this Seotion shall
be guilty of an infraction, which shall be pssnishable by a fine
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such fine and imprisonment. {Prior code § 4212; added by
Ord. No. 157&CCS § 1, adopted 3126/91; amended by Ord.
No. 1813CCS § 2, adopted 9112!95}
{2} Any person violating this Section m~ be
issued an administrative citation ursuant to Cha ter 1.49 of
this code;
~} The remedies provided in this subsection are
not exclusive and nothing in this subsection shall preclude
the use or a lication of an other remedies enalties or
procedures established by law.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance,, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. if any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is far any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
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SECTION ~. The INayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective 3~ days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORiVi: