A member of the Richmond City Council has floated the idea of restricting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the city, but says he’s not inclined to push too hard on the topic unless it’s something residents clearly support.

In May, the Northern Virginia city of Alexandria became the first locality in the state to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, which are often criticized as being annoyingly loud and bad for the environment. Alexandria’s ordinance phases out gas blowers over 18 months, with the full ban taking effect in November of 2026.

Last month, Richmond Councilor Andrew Breton (1st District) announced he was “exploring” the idea of seeking a similar ban in Richmond through the city’s noise ordinance.

However, after getting mixed feedback on the idea, Breton now says he’s not planning on pushing the proposal forward anytime soon.

“I thought it was worth a look,” Breton said in a recent interview. “But it’s not a universally supported move. So I’m going to be focusing on other things that I think are more pressing.”

Quieter, electric-powered leaf blowers are now widely available, but they’re generally seen as less convenient than gas-powered models for big jobs or big yards.  Some electric models can compete with gas equipment in terms of leaf-blowing power, but they have limited battery life and have to be recharged.

In Alexandria, the business impact on landscaping companies that use gas-powered equipment was a key concern for policymakers. That impact was a factor in the decision to delay implementation of the ban to give both professional landscapers and homeowners who do their own yard work more time to prepare.

Breton said it’s possible he could pursue a smaller change in Richmond, such as transitioning the city itself away from gas-powered blowers without imposing new rules on everyone.

If there does appear to be more of a “groundswell” building in Richmond against gas blowers, Breton said he might revisit the idea in the future.

“I do think it’s the right thing to do,” Breton said. “It’s just not the right time.”

For the last few years, it’s been an open question whether local governments even have the power to ban gas-powered blowers.

Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which means cities and counties only have the powers explicitly granted to them by the state government. 

Several bills have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly to empower localities to crack down on gas blowers. Supporters pitched the legislation as addressing a basic qualify-of-life issue affecting many neighborhoods, but some critical lawmakers portrayed the proposal to regulate lawn-care equipment as a classic example of government overreach.

The leaf blower proposals failed to pass the state legislature, but a legal opinion Attorney General Jason Miyares issued last year effectively kicked the question back to city councils and county boards.

In an advisory opinion issued in response to an Alexandria lawmaker, Miyares said local governments already have the ability to pass rules on leaf blowers through their existing powers to regulate noise. Alexandria had effectively tied its own hands by exempting lawn equipment from the noise ordinance. But there was nothing stopping the city, Miyares wrote, from passing noise rules for leaf blowers and drawing a distinction between gas-powered and electric versions.

Though it doesn’t appear Richmond will be following suit in the near future, several Alexandria residents thanked their local elected officials for passing the first ban of its kind in Virginia.

At a public hearing in May, Samantha Ahdoot said she was grateful Alexandria had taken action against the “singularly obnoxious machines.”

As he applauded Alexandria’s move, Andrew Macdonald said there are plenty of other options for moving leaves from one spot to another.

“People can use things called rakes,” he said.

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org