There is controversy blowing in the wind over lawn care in Naples, Fla. because the city council is considering a ban on leaf blowers. While the ban would cut down on noise, landscape contractors say it would also end up costing customers more money.
The sound of a leaf blower going strong is familiar to most people. Now, a Naples group wants to silence those landscaping tools.
The group pushing for the leaf blower ban is presenting its research to the Naples City Council on Tuesday and the idea has already triggered opposition.
"They're not used that much, so I don't see what the big deal is. I thought it was a joke at first," said Parker Gile of Parker's Tree Service. "About five minutes with a leaf blower will probably take an hour, hour-and-a-half with brooms."
And Gile says more manpower means more money.
"You've have to pass the price onto the customer, because you can't eat it," said Gile.
And landscapers fear it won't stop with leaf blowers. They're by no means the only noisy tool needed for business - especially with the kind of vegetation found in Southwest Florida.
"Trying to maintain hedges - 15 feet hedges by hand clipping them? You'd be here a couple of weeks," said Gile.
Cole, who is heading up the effort to ban the leaf blowers, says she sees the need for clippers and chippers. But she believes leaf blowers are over-used and under-efficient.
"Two guys with three leaves and they're just going and going and going and you're just thinking - what are they doing?" said Cole.
Landscape contractors though say this is another Naples plan that would just hurt the little guys.
"They're regulating everybody right out of business," said Gile.
The Naples city parks superintendent also says a ban would up the city's landscaping costs and says that would be passed on to taxpayers.
Cole says she will consider a compromise that restricts the hours of leaf blower use from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.