1 From: carol wilhelmy
Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2026 1:30 PM
To: City Council (San Mateo); Clerk
Subject: 3/2/2026 agenda item #7 public comment on leaf blower ordinance Dear San Mateo City Council:
To ensure success, an ordinance must be strong and enforced, and its purpose must be understood by the community. The purpose of the leaf blower ordinance is not to address complaints, it is to protect the health and safety of our community. This point can be clarified in the PURPOSE section 10.80.010 of the municipal code.
Upon receipt of code violation reports during the 9 month period leading up to the enforcement date of January 1, 2027, city staff are encouraged to send courtesy notices to property owners and businesses. This will enable a quicker and more successful transition to cleaner tools, and should ease the enforcement burden on the code
enforcement department once strict enforcement begins. Portions of this process can be automated.
A successful ordinance must be equitable.
Please adopt the ordinance city-wide with no exceptions or exemptions, and add Juneteenth National Independence Day to the list of federal holidays on which all leaf blower operation is prohibited.
Please consider adding the language:
"No person shall operate or authorize the use of an internal combustion generator to charge batteries for, or, provide power to, leaf blowers."
Please incorporate language in the ordinance now that will prohibit the use of gas-powered string and hedge trimmers starting January 1, 2028.
Don't leave this task to a future city council!
And last but not least, allow us members of the community to aid in this
2 healing transition to better health for workers, businesses, residents, and visitors in our city.
Thank you for doing the right thing – protecting our health, safety, and quality of life.
Sincerely,
Carol Wilhelmy
1 From: Andrea Chow
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2026 9:58 AM
To: Chantal Eaton
Subject: FW: Leaf gas blowers
Can you include this as public comment for Monday’s leaf blower item?
From: Carolyn Healy
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2026 9:52 AM
To: Andrea Chow <[email protected]>
Subject: Leaf gas blowers
Please add my name to the list of San Mateo residents who want gas leaf blowers eliminated from our city and add my name as a "write in" to the agenda for the city council meeting regarding gas leaf blowers. When I take my daily morning walks in Sunnybrae, I can barely escape the blast of their engines and the dust and debris they churn up. My sleep is interrupted almost every day and definitely every weekend by my neighbors yard workers using their gas leaf blowers. It's miserable. Why is this such a hard issue to fix in such a wealthy city with money pouring into the city coffers from all those new housing developments? Shouldn't we find new ways to make our ever growing population find living here more enjoyable? As I type this right now, my thoughts are interrupted by a neighbors leaf blower! Thank you.
Carolyn Healy