Brookline Winter Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban Begins Soon

BROOKLINE, MA — An annual winter ban against using gas-powered leaf blowers will take effect in Brookline this weekend with the beginning of the new year.

Officials recently noted the ban, marking Saturday as the last day of permitted gas-powered leaf blower use in town until mid-March.

Brookline’s Town Meeting previously passed a leaf blower bylaw, setting out a series of restrictions and penalties aimed at curbing emissions and noise linked to gas leaf blowers.

The goal, a town brochure explaining leaf blower rules notes, is to limit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers to periods of heavy leaf litter collection.

Portable leaf blowers need to have a manufacturer's sticker certifying a noise level of no more than 67 dBA when measured at a distance of 50 feet.

Commercial landscapers also need an annual permit from the town to operate leaf blowers in Brookline.

Electric leaf blower use is permitted year-round between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Gas leaf blowers are subject to the hours restrictions during the spring and fall. They’re then outright banned between Jan. 1 and March 14 as well as between May 16 and Sept. 30.

A first offense for a leaf blower bylaw violation in a calendar year will result in a written warning. Second offenses draw a $50 penalty. Third offense penalties are $100 while any subsequent offenses carry a penalty of $150.