Lower Merion Township’s board of commissioners has approved a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers in a 10-4 vote on Wednesday, following hours of public comment on the issue, writes Emily Neil for WHYY.
“If this were easy, it would have happened already, right?” said Todd Sinai, president of the board of commissioners. “This is hard. It is hard to push things in and make progress. We’re the first township in Pennsylvania, I think, to do this. So townships and other places have done it, but some town has to go first, right? Some town has to be the one that is the starting point for all the other municipalities to coalesce around.”
The ban will take effect on June 1, 2026. Gas-powered leaf blowers will be banned seasonally in two increments, from June 1 to October 1 and from January 1 to April 1. The seasonal ban will apply to 2026 and 2027. The following year, gas-powered leaf blowers canl only be used in the fall, from October 1 to December 31. Starting in 2029, they will be banned year-round.
Portable generators for electric leaf blowers will also be banned starting June 1, 2026.
Read more about the ban on leaf blowers in WHYY.
