City Council on 2024-02-20 6:00 PM - CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER Meeting Time: 02-20-24 18:00
eComments Report
Meetings Meeting
Time
Agenda
Items
Comments Support Oppose Neutral
City Council on 2024-02-20 6:00 PM -
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER
02-20-24
18:00
46 10 5 2 0
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City Council on 2024-02-20 6:00 PM - CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER 02-20-24 18:00
Agenda Name Comments Support Oppose Neutral
N.2. 24-0152 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING
ALLOWING USE OF BATTERY-POWERED LEAF BLOWERS
5 3 2 0
P.1. 24-0270 RECOGNITION THAT THE POSITION OF MAYOR IS
VACANT AND DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO FILL BY
APPOINTMENT THE VACANCY PURSUANT TO SECTION 6.4 OF THE
REDONDO BEACH CHARTER
5 2 0 0
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Agenda Item: eComments for N.2. 24-0152 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING ALLOWING USE OF BATTERYPOWERED LEAF BLOWERS Overall Sentiment
mara lang
Location:
Submitted At: 5:45pm 02-20-24
Gardners do not need to blow leaves and grass around to "do their job." They can cut the grass, rake up the grass clippings and be on their way. It is up to the home owners to tell the gardners that they do not expect them to blow their garden/ grass clippings all over the neighborhood at 7am. How many of us have had to walk through gas fumes and dust and clippings in our neighborhood. Many cities have this ordinance, we should not repeal it because it is challenging to execute. The intent was to improve the quality of life for all residents with less noise and less pollution.
Dennis Lau
Location:
Submitted At: 2:05pm 02-20-24
I am also against a ban on leaf blowers, regardless of power source. I echo Linda Marr's comment. We live in a densely populated community and have to be tolerant of inconveniences. This is the tyranny of the minority. Too much government.
Linda Marr
Location:
Submitted At: 10:19am 02-20-24
I'm against a ban on leaf blowers in general. It's just making it almost impossibly hard for gardeners who work very hard for not much money. The people who oppose leaf blowers are usually incredibly selfish. My neighbor parks an ENORMOUS RV in his driveway. It's an eyesore, but allowed and frankly, his right. But he's against leaf blowers because it blows dirt on his ENORMOUS EYESORE. Good grief. This is a case of too much government.
Brad Waller
Location:
Submitted At: 2:44pm 02-19-24
Updating city code to allow electric leaf blowers offers a more balanced solution to the outright ban. Electric leaf blowers are significantly quieter than their gas-powered counterparts - we can maintain a peaceful environment without sacrificing efficiency.
City staff reports and similar information from Redondo Beach Unified School District maintenance staff show the gross inefficiency and increased labor costs due to a ban on leaf blowers. Advances in battery technology and blower acoustics have made electric leaf blowers affordable and far quieter than just five or ten years ago.
Electric leaf blowers strike a balance between efficient lawn care and environmental responsibility. By embracing this alternative, we can reduce noise pollution, increase the effectiveness of city staff, and create a more sustainable future for our community.
David Waldner
Location:
Submitted At: 1:39pm 02-19-24
After many years of work and lobbying the Redondo Beach City Council, I and other residents were able to get all leaf blowers banned in the City of Redondo Beach in July 2018. This happened with strong support from Mayor Bill Brand and Council Member Todd Loewenstein.
The current Item before the Council to allow electric leaf blowers is a serious step back from the original intent of the ordinance to eliminate a major environmental and quality of life problem.
Leaf blowers negatively affect the environment and quality of life for three primary reasons: Noise, toxic dust and chemical dispersion into the air, and two-cycle gasoline engine emissions All leaf blowers disperse dust, pollen, mold, automobile brake and tire dust, herbicides, pesticides, and animal waste into the air that we and our children breath. All of which are serious health hazards. Both electric and gas leaf blowers are the problem.
To allow electric or battery powered leaf blowers would not significantly reduce noise. They are only 29% to 30% quieter than gas powered blowers.
When the leaf blower ban was before Council in July 2018, I personally appeared in front of Council to support the ban and challenge the City’s Public Works labor saving estimate based on my many years as an Airport/Public Works Director with the City of Los Angeles. As I said at the time, when all leaf blowers were banned in the City of Los Angeles within 500 feet of residences (1998), we experienced no measurable labor or contractual cost differences to switch from leaf blowers to manual “rake and sweep” operations. In fact, our employees were happy to not have to deal with the toxic dust and ear and eye protection issues.
In closing, I urge you to reject this proposal. It’s the right thing to do.
Agenda Item: eComments for P.1. 24-0270 RECOGNITION THAT THE POSITION OF MAYOR IS VACANT AND DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO FILL BY APPOINTMENT THE VACANCY PURSUANT TO SECTION 6.4 OF THE REDONDO BEACH
CHARTER
Overall Sentiment
Maricela Guillermo
Location:
Submitted At: 7:49pm 02-20-24
I appreciate all the candidates' willingness to fulfill the remainder of our beloved Mayor Bill Brand's term, but I feel Jim Light is the one. Thanks!
Kelly Charles
Location:
Submitted At: 5:56pm 02-20-24
Item P1: RIP, Mayor Brand. I would kindly ask that whoever is chosen to fill the vacant Mayoral seat of our Beautiful City have the same core values as Mayor Brand -- someone who shares his ideas and visions of our City, and can carry out what Bill wanted to achieve during his last year of service; someone who knows this City and has lived here for a good amount of time; someone who cares deeply about what residents want for their City. Bob Pinzler and Steve Colin come to mind. Thank you.
Tim Charles
Location:
Submitted At: 5:52pm 02-20-24
I respectfully request that the 5 council members fill the mayoral vacancy with a qualified person that holds the same views, values, beliefs & temperament as Mayor Bill Brand. That would include limited growth and more parks/open spaces. This person's number one priority should be for the interest of Redondo residents in all 5 districts and not outside interesting like developers.
mara lang
Location:
Submitted At: 5:48pm 02-20-24
It feels somewhat difficult to take on this challenging discussion of appointing an interim mayor as we mourn this still very new loss of our beloved Mayor, and friend Bill Brand. This is a time when many of us want to pause, reflect and consider how to best honor Bill’s memory.
Although difficult, we understand that city matters must go on. Perhaps discussing this appointment tonight serves as an initial tribute to Bill's legacy. I respectfully urge our city council to carefully consider and nominate a candidate whom Bill would have endorsed and supported, perhaps even someone he would have chosen himself.
There are not many things I am certain of, but can say I feel confidently that Jim Light would faithfully uphold Bill’s vision for our city—the vision we collectively endorsed when we elected Mayor Brand. Amidst this delicate period of transition, appointing an individual like Jim would provide our community with a sense of stability and constancy. Jim's close involvement in Bill’s work, coupled with their friendship, highlights his unwavering dedication and loyalty to our community—a commitment that has been demonstrated through his own activism and advocacy.
Please consider appointing Jim Light to fulfill the vacant position of Mayor of Redondo Beach.
Linda Marr
Location:
Submitted At: 10:23am 02-20-24
I suggest Laura Emdee since she was supposed to step in as acting mayor anyway. If not Laura, then someone who is not biased in constant favor of South Redondo and will support ALL of Redondo Beach. That has not been the case with some of the members of this Council.