Gas-powered leaf blower / file image from 2023 press conference
After County Councilmembers introduced a bill to take photos out of the complaint process for the gas-powered leaf blower ban, County Executive Marc Elrich said he supports the effort.
Gas-powered leaf blowers were banned in Montgomery County as of July 1 with a goal of alleviating noise levels and health issues.
‘Abundance of Caution’
“I’m really happy that it’s being done,” Elrich said during a media briefing Thursday. “Our folks worked out a way of doing this, and we’re comfortable doing it without photographs.”
“I understand the abundance of caution people want to exercise to make sure we’re not taking pictures of the faces of people who — because they might be brown looking — would catch the attention of somebody in ICE.”
“These people they insist they want to remove from the country — who go to work every day and support their families — these are the people they want to remove. These are the people we’re trying to protect,” Elrich said.
Councilmembers’ Bill
According to legislation currently in effect, enforcement of the gas-powered leaf blower ban includes using photographic evidence to support complaints. County Councilmembers introduced a new bill last week to change the procedure for reporting violators of the ban, so it does not involve photos.
“We know that a large number of individuals who operate and do lawn care in our community are Latino and immigrant individuals,” Councilmember Evan Glass said – “And in this era of Donald Trump we should not be encouraging people to take photographs of their neighbors doing their work, supporting our community, and being neighbors.”
He called it a “common-sense issue in this time of Donald Trump.”
Councilmember Gabe Albornoz said “this was one of the principal reasons” why he did not support the original leaf blower bill.
Glass and Albornoz are lead sponsors along with Council President Kate Stewart and Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe. Cosponsors are Councilmembers Natali Fani-González, Andrew Friedson, Sidney Katz, Dawn Luedtke, and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
A public hearing for the bill is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Related Post:
Councilmembers Don’t Want Photos as Part of Leaf Blower Ban Enforcement
