Glencoe’s policies regarding the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers appear set for a change next year, following the release of regional report on the devices.
At the March 16 Committee of the Whole meeting, village trustees indicated they would support a change in policy toward gasoline-powered leaf blowers permitting their usage in an eight-week window in the fall from October 1 to November 30 and in the spring from approximately April 1 to April 30 starting in 2024.
Currently, gas-powered leaf blowers are allowed in Glencoe from March 15 through May 15 and then from September 15 through December 15 of each year, according to village documents.
Village Manager Phil Kiraly anticipated the village board would formally move to change the existing regulations in either April or May.
The likely new policy follows last December’s release of a report of findings from stakeholders encompassing 11 separate North Shore communities — including Glencoe — on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers after a year of study. The gas-powered blowers are widely seen as effective in removing leaves and debris, but they carry environmental concerns and produce an irritating noise.
The report recommended a series of options for best practices that municipalities could take with four possibilities ranging from no change in current regulations to a 10-month ban on the devices.
Gas leaf blowers will be prohibited in Evanston starting April 1 with limited hours allowable for electric leaf blower use. Those hours include Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Landscapers who have registered with the city are eligible for grants up to $3,000 to help replace gas and propane powered leaf blowers with electric models.
Kiraly said a full ban was not practical in Glencoe at this time as outlined in the report of the working group due to financial reasons. Electric and battery-powered leaf blowers are far more expensive than gas-powered ones and there are corresponding limits on current technology.
Yet Kiraly indicated there was a widespread belief that additional changes could be made in the future.
“We believe as a group of communities the technology is advancing and there is value in another review of this sooner rather than later,” he said.
Continued to be excluded from the new rules would be the Glencoe Park District and Glencoe District 35, but Kiraly said there would be conversations with those governmental units on how to move forward toward policy changes in the future.
Kiraly added all of Glencoe’s golf courses, both public and private, would also continue be exempted.
The trustees indicated they would support the policy change.
Village President Howard Roin said he would have liked to see the kick in this year, but that was not seen as practical given the start of spring.
“This is a good start,” Roin said.
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Kiraly, who was one of the chairmen of the working group, expressed satisfaction with the initial results.
“This was an interesting effort with a good outcome,” Kiraly said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.