City Council

(31) 24-0055 CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE REPORT relative to an update on gas-powered leaf blower enforcement, and related matters. Recommendations for Council action, as initiated by Motion (Raman – Blumenfield): 1. INSTRUCT the Bureau of Street Services (BSS) to report to Council within 60 days on the number of complaints received and the number of citations issued for gas-powered leaf blower violations in Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24. This data should include the BSS enforcement area and the Council District in which the citation was issued. With the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), the report should also include the number of successful South Coast Air Quality Management District trade-in program participants in the City since the inception of the State's program, the qualifications needed for operators to participate in the program, and an update on the current status of program funding. 2. INSTRUCT the BSS, with the support of the City Attorney, to report to Council within 60 days on the BSS current enforcement mechanisms and process, enforcement challenges, additional staffing or other resources needed to improve enforcement, and strategies to provide a more timely and efficient response to gas-powered leaf blower complaints, as well as potential amendments to Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 112.04 (c) including consideration, with a feasibility assessment, of the following: a. Requiring that all citations for gas-powered leaf blower infractions be issued to the owner of the property on which the violation occurs, not to the operator of the gas-powered leaf blower. b. Naming a City department other than the Los Angeles Police Department as the department primarily responsible for enforcing the ordinance. c. Implementing the issuance of state resources in place of fines for first time offenders, or other non punitive measures of enforcement. d. Equipping the enforcing department to issue fines and/or warnings based on community reports without a BSS inspector personally witnessing the violation. 3. INSTRUCT the BSS, with the assistance of the Economic and Workforce Development Department and the Office of Wage Standards, to report to Council on developing an educational program on the environmental impacts of gas-powered leaf blowers, current regulations, and programs that provide rebates for the purchase of electric blowers or other trade-in programs. This educational program should include outreach to gardeners and landscapers, using business registration data from the Office of Finance, and outreach to homeowners in areas where citations and complaints for gas-powered leaf blowers are most common. Additionally, the program should include resources on how a gardener can report wage theft in the event that the imposed fines are carried down from the homeowner onto the operator. The program should be prepared in English and Spanish. 4. REQUEST the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to report to Council with the estimated energy impacts and/or cost savings associated with using electric versus gas powered lawn equipment. Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the CLA has completed a financial analysis of this report.