Zero-Emission Equipment Ordinance

Equipment Vouchers Available

Eligible landscape maintenance professionals can now obtain zero-emission landscape equipment at reduced or no cost through the Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Program (CORE). Please visit the CORE website for more information. If you have questions regarding the CORE program or need assistance, please contact the American Green Zone Alliance at (310) 779-9785 or info@agza.net.

Leaf Blower Ordinance

On September 28, 2022, the City Council adopted an ordinance to prohibit the use of gasoline powered leaf blowers in Westlake Village starting January 1, 2023. This prohibition applies Citywide to all homeowners, gardeners, homeowners associations, and landscape maintenance companies. Persons and companies wishing to use such equipment are required to use battery, electric, and/or hand powered equipment.

Fact sheet about the benefits of zero emissions equipment (English and Spanish)

Ordinance Enforcement

With the ordinance now in effect, the City has been receiving numerous complaints about homeowners and gardeners using gas-powered leaf blowers and questions about why the City is not doing more to enforce the new ordinance.

The City Council wishes to start with an education phase for the first few months that the new ordinance is in effect. This is intended to provide homeowners and gardeners with fair notice of the new law and give them the opportunity to purchase new equipment.

If you observe a gas-powered leaf blower being used, please call City Hall at (818) 706-1613 or send an email to planning@wlv.org. Please provide the location, day, and time that you observed the blower being used and please indicate if it was being used by a homeowner or gardener. It is not necessary to take photos or videos of the leaf blower in use.

City staff will visit the property to speak with the homeowner and make them aware of the new law. If the complaint is regarding a gardener, staff will return at the same day and time the following week to speak directly with the gardener. A bilingual handout with information about the new law will be provided to both the homeowner and gardener.

Community Workshops

A Business Outreach Day was held at the Westlake Village Civic Center on January 4, 2023. The American Green Zone Alliance and City staff shared information on how landscape maintenance companies can get up to 70% off of new electric landscaping equipment. Equipment demonstrations and Spanish translation were provided.

Virtual community workshops were held via Zoom on May 26, 2022, and June 28, 2022. An in-person workshop and equipment demonstration was held on September 7, 2022, at the Westlake Village Civic Center.

Watch the video of the first virtual workshop held on May 26, 2022

Other Equipment Ordinance

This winter, the City Council will consider an ordinance to ban the use of other gasoline powered landscape maintenance equipment starting July 1, 2023. More information will be available here soon.

Zero-Emission Benefits

Gasoline powered leaf blowers and other landscape maintenance equipment are a significant source of air pollution in California. Referred to as Small Off Road Engines (SORE), these small engines are significantly more polluting than passengers cars. Operating a leaf blower for one hour creates as much air pollution as driving 1,100 miles from Los Angeles to Denver! Please visit the California Air Resources Board web site for more information.

In addition to air pollution, leaf blowers and other equipment cause noise pollution and can have health impacts on their operators. The City Council sought to address this in 2012 with the adoption of Leaf Blower Guidelines. However, these guidelines only restrict the time of usage and encourage steps to reduce noise and dust.

In November 2021, the City Council took the next step of considering stricter regulation of gasoline powered leaf blowers and other landscape maintenance equipment. The Council directed staff to move forward with two parallel efforts:

Transition maintenance of all Westlake Village parks and facilities to zero-emission equipment (i.e., battery powered) in conjunction with new landscape maintenance contracts to be executed in 2022. Seek “Green Zone” certification from the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) to recognize the City’s use of zero-emission equipment.
Prepare ordinances to prohibit the use of gasoline powered leaf blowers starting January 1, 2023, and to prohibit the use of other gasoline powered landscape maintenance equipment starting July 1, 2023.

Below is a timeline for the ordinance process.