County Board members are approaching a decision this weekend on whether to ban gas-powered leaf blowers in Arlington.
They appear all but certain to vote in favor of the ban, but still seem undecided on the length of the phase-out period. Several County Board members told ARLnow they will be weighing public feedback before taking a position on whether to support a period of 18, 24 or 36 months.
“We’ve been continuing to get a lot,” Board member Susan Cunningham said of comments being received in advance of the meeting.
Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said much of the feedback favored a short phase-out period. However, business groups have raised concerns over the implications of an 18-month timeline, he said.
“I haven’t looked yet enough at the policy questions,” de Ferranti told ARLnow earlier this week.
For now, “I’m listening,” he said.
Board members in June set the public hearing for July 18. At the June meeting, they heard from those concerned about the environmental impacts of gas-powered leaf blowers, but also from those in the industry, who voiced apprehension about too short a transition period.
At last month’s County Board meeting, all five Board members indicated they would support a ban.
Among those pressing for a short phase-out period is Quiet Clean Northern Virginia. According to the organization’s Margaret McKelvey:
“Quiet Clean Northern Virginia and its allies EcoAction Arlington, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Sierra Club, and Quiet Maywood strongly maintain that 18 months is sufficient for a grace period in transitioning to electric, because landscapers start saving on day one when switching a gas to an electric blower because they don’t have to pay for gas and oil. Not all equipment has to [be] swapped out on day one. Savings from the first blower can be used to purchase the second.”
McKelvey said concerns that a shorter transition period would lead to confusion and a lack of compliance were overblown.
“County notices about the impending ban will reach law-abiding residents,” she said, “and even 50% compliance would be a great improvement over the 100% noise and air pollution we have now.”
A number of county advisory commissions are supporting an 18-month transition period.
Cunningham told ARLnow that a number of those submitting comments in recent weeks have pushed for a 12-month phase-out. Since the county government’s legal advertisement for the public hearing set a minimum 18-month period, there would be no way for Board members to set a one-year period without starting the process over.
Arlington would become the second Northern Virginia jurisdiction to implement a ban on gas powered leaf blowers. The Alexandria City Council enacted one in May 2025, setting an 18-month transition period.
Alexandria’s decision rested on a legal opinion from then-Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), who said the city had the power to regulate leaf blowers through its charter.
Arlington does not have similar explicit authority, but county officials focused on another part of the legal opinion. In it, Miyares expressed the general view that localities could use noise-control ordinances to enact a leaf-blower ban or restriction, “so long as it is reasonable.”
In Virginia, opinions by the state attorney general do not have the force of law, but typically are given deference by the courts unless the legislature steps in.
In the 2026 General Assembly session, bills were introduced in each house to give localities explicit authority to regulate leaf-blower noise. One bill was killed outright, another was deferred to the 2027 session.
In initially proposing a 36-month phase-out, county staff suggested that a shorter time frame could open the county to litigation unless support was given to assist impacted businesses.
The issue is the final item on the Board’s July 18 agenda, and will be preceded by a public hearing.
