Aspen offers electric leaf blower voucher program

The city of Aspen has launched a pilot electric leaf blower voucher program with the aim of helping local landscaping businesses transition to electric lawn equipment and comply with city regulations that prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.

Gas-powered leaf blowers have been prohibited in Aspen since 2003, when Aspen City Council adopted the ban following a citizen petition that raised concerns about excessive noise generated by the machines. While the regulation has been in place for more than two decades, Sarah Sandifer, code outreach and compliance specialist for the city, told The Aspen Times that only since her position was created in 2023 has she been able to begin addressing concerns raised by local landscaping business owners about the cost of transitioning to electric equipment.

“This has been years in planning,” Sandifer said. “We hope a lot of landscapers in the community take the chance to do this … It’s been a very long mission on how we can make it easier for the businesses.”

The new voucher program runs through June 20, designed to assist landscaping companies operating within the city with the purchase of electric leaf blowers, batteries and portable charging stations. The funding comes from a $30,000 grant from the Grants Rebates and Incentive programs offered by the city of Aspen’s Environmental Health and Sustainability Department.

Sandifer noted that, if the pilot this year is successful, more money will be requested next year to expand city support.

“A theme we kept hearing over and over again was, ‘This is really expensive for us, this is really a burden on our business,'” she said, adding that Pitkin County doesn’t have the same code as Aspen. “Our long-term goal is that we would be able to eventually fund more than just leaf blowers.”

According to her, the city has previously hosted an electric-powered leaf blower demonstration to showcase different brands to landscaping companies to confirm that they can do what gas-powered leaf blowers can do.

“They last just as long; they’re just as strong,” Sandifer said. “This equipment has come really far in the past couple years, and your return on investment is going to be better in the long run with electric.”

The city will partner with two electric-powered leaf blower companies and pay those companies directly for blowers, batteries and generators, giving vouchers to selected landscapers to turn in with the company for what they need.

“The initiative aims to reduce barriers to compliance while supporting local businesses and advancing community sustainability goals,” a press release states. “The city developed the pilot voucher program to help offset those costs and encourage wider adoption of quieter, cleaner technology.”

Sandifer added that, with those current cost barriers, enforcement has been rooted in progressive warnings and ticketing, operating on both a complaint-basis and with neighborhood patrols. According to her, she’s never actually had to issue a ticket to repeat offenders following warnings.

Snowmass Village is currently considering a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. While concern was raised during public comment for a draft ordinance around being able to properly mitigate for wildfire risk without gas-powered leaf blowers, Sandifer said Aspen hasn’t had any issue with that.

“What we’re finding is that the electric models that are available today … they’re making equipment that is comparable to the gas-powered,” she said. “With the actual power that it’s emitting, you can do the cleanup.”

Eligible businesses can apply for vouchers and learn more about program requirements at aspen.gov/1801/Electric-Leaf-Blower-Voucher-Program.

“We hope that next year it is an even bigger program,” she said. “We’re really excited about it.”