Title:
Title
Ordinance Adding Chapter 8.70 Relating to Portable Blowers (Passed for Publication 10/27/2020; Published 10/30/2020)
End
FileID
File ID: 2020-01305
Location
Location: Citywide
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Adopt an Ordinance adding chapter 8.70 to the Sacramento City Code relating to Portable Blowers.
Contact: Peter Lemos, Code and Housing Enforcement Chief, (916) 808-8183, Community Development Department
Body
Presenter: Peter Lemos, Code and Housing Enforcement Chief, (916) 808-8183, Community Development Department
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Ordinance
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The use of leaf blowers creates several types of emissions, including engine exhaust, refueling emissions and fugitive dust emissions. The most significant health impact created by portable blowers comes from the fugitive dust emissions and noise created during operations. Portable blower dust entrained from streets can aggravate asthma and other upper-respiratory conditions when inhaled. The use of portable gasoline-powered blowers when the Air Quality Index (AQI) is high has created health concerns. According to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD), the AQI exceeded 100 an average of 34.4 days dating back to 2014. Vice Mayor Jeff Harris requested that the City consider amending the city code to prohibit the use of all blowers whether electric or gas-powered when the AQI is at or above 100.
Policy Considerations: Health concerns regarding the use of portable blowers has created the potential need for a regulation ordinance. Staff recommends adding chapter 8.70 of the Sacramento City Code relating to portable blowers to define "Air Quality Index" as the "Current PM2.5 AQI" for downtown Sacramento, as reported by the SMAQMD on the website page http://www.sparetheair.com/aqi.cfm. Further, the proposed ordinance would prohibit operating a portable blower when the AQI is 101 or above.
Economic Impac...
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