Rye lawmakers are ready to consider banning gas-powered leaf blowers, reopening a debate that the City Council tabled last year amid disagreements over timing, technology, and an impending election that reshaped the council’s makeup.
The review will mark the first formal discussion of leaf blower regulations since August 2025, when the council unanimously voted to delay changes until this year after failing to reach consensus on how quickly the city should transition away from gas-powered equipment.
At the time, there were four council seats, including the mayor’s, up for election, prompting a majority to defer the issue until a new council was in place.
A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28.
Electric leaf blowers are allowed year-round, while gas-powered blowers are restricted to seasonal cleanup periods: March 1 through April 30 and Oct. 1 through Dec. 15, under current law. It also limits hours for motorized landscaping equipment to weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with use prohibited on holidays including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Temporary exceptions can be granted following major storms or emergencies, according to the ordinance.
But city officials contend that the current rules have proven difficult to enforce. In recent months, more than 450 tickets have been issued, straining police resources — leading Public Safety Commissioner Michael Kopy to create “leaf blowers patrols“ — city attorneys, and the court system.
Residents, particularly first-time offenders, have complained that the ordinance is confusing, citing its seasonal restrictions, hour limits, and district-based exemptions.
In November, William Glass launched an online petition calling on the City Council to amend the city code so that homeowners are not automatically held liable for violations made by landscapers. The petition has received 64 signatures to date.
Glass, a resident, complained that after receiving a summons for his landscapers use of gas-powered blowers — something he claims he was unaware of — he had to spend a day at City Court.
“I also have no control over my lawn guys who swear to me that they always follow the law,” he said. “Getting a ticket and a court summons is unfair and disruptive to my life and my job.”
Concerns over noise and air pollution have driven the city’s gradual move toward limiting gas-powered blowers. In 2023, Rye amended its law to permit electric blowers year-round, a step city officials described as a transition toward quieter equipment, even as they acknowledged that electric models lack the power of gas blowers.
That gap fueled disagreement during last year’s debate. At that time, Republican Councilman Bill Henderson, who introduced a proposal to shorten gas-blower seasons, warned against setting a firm end date before electric technology was ready for it.
But Democrats argued residents had already been given sufficient time to adjust and pushed for a definitive sunset date to ban gas blowers altogether.
“The tradeoff is, we’re not going to haul people down to court, and you get to use electric, battery-powered blowers all year long,” said new Mayor Josh Nathan, a Democrat. “No one’s telling you how to take care of your yard or what your yard should look like.
“That’s the homeowner’s decision — but the noise goes away.”
The public hearing signals a shift toward resolving those lingering questions. City officials say the goal is to simplify enforcement, reduce resident confusion, and strike a balance between practical yard maintenance and quality-of-life concerns.
