Arlington officials have opted against moving forward with a program to monitor and issue tickets to owners of unusually loud vehicles.
While Fairfax County is moving forward with preparations for a pilot program starting early next year, Arlington is in wait-and-see mode. In response to an ARLnow inquiry, a county spokesman gave the reasoning:
It’s official: gas-powered leaf blowers are getting banned in Arlington.
County Board members on Saturday adopted a 29-month phase-out period for gas-powered leaf blowers countywide, a timeframe officials said would help to make sure the transition goes smoothly.
More low-flying aircraft and loud noises are coming to the D.C. area — this time overnight.
NORAD will conduct an air-defense exercise over the National Capital Region between midnight and 5:30 a.m. each day from tonight (Tuesday) through Thursday, July 2, according to an AlertDC notice. Some aircraft could fly as low as 1,000 feet and may be visible from the ground.
A potential ban on gas-powered leaf blowers in Arlington is moving forward, with county staff preparing draft regulations for community and County Board consideration.
Board action as early as this summer could start the clock ticking on a multi-year phaseout period.
Reagan National Airport has seen a significant decline in the loudest aircraft types over the past decade, but some advocates say it’s not enough to mitigate the impacts of increased flight operations.
Stage 3 commercial aircraft — the noisiest in current fleets — have declined from 21% of all operations in 2015 to 2% in 2025 at Reagan National, while Stage 4 and Stage 5 aircraft have increased from 79% to 98% of the total, according to Michael Jeck, the noise office manager at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
A key county advisory panel likes the proposal to ban gas-powered leaf blowers countywide, but doesn’t want to get too far into the weeds on specifics right now.
Members of the Arlington Park and Recreation Commission on Oct. 28 agreed to send a letter to County Board members, expressing support for the concept of outlawing gas blowers.
Falls Church officials plan to start looking into options for limiting or banning the use of gas-powered leaf blowers within city limits.
Among the issues remaining to be determined, likely early next year, is whether city leaders already have the power to enact a prohibition — or if they must wait for approval from the state government.
A decision to keep noise-mitigation efforts at Reagan National Airport in-house, rather than outsource them to independent experts, is drawing criticism from an advisory panel.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (WMAA) announced its decision on “Fly Quiet” efforts at the Oct. 23 meeting of the Reagan National Community Working Group, which works to reduce the impacts of noise from airport operations.
New route charts from the Federal Aviation Administration further restrict helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport, reducing where the aircraft can fly over Arlington.
The modified charts, published last week, shrink the zones in which helicopters can fly over Northern Virginia and D.C. when operating on authorized business such as medical or law enforcement missions. A portion of the zone in Arlington, which previously extended to Fort Myer in the east, has been pushed back to west of Glebe Road.
As Arlington County staff research a possible ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, they may take some lessons from a nearby jurisdiction’s struggles with a similar prohibition.
A ban on gas-powered leaf blowers in Montgomery County went into effect July 1, threatening $500 citations if someone is photographed using the noisy and environmentally unfriendly devices. Recently, however, that county’s leaders have been rethinking ways to enforce the ban while respecting people’s privacy.
An Arlington leader is showing interest in a pilot program to monitor noise levels from vehicles’ exhaust systems.
Legislation now on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk would allow localities in Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area to begin using automated monitoring equipment to gauge the noise levels of passing vehicles.
As safety restrictions tighten around Reagan National Airport, Arlington’s congressman is pushing to ensure this doesn’t mean more aircraft noise over residential areas.
Following last month’s fatal midair collision between a military helicopter and a commercial jet, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced new guardrails on flights around the airport.
