Leaf Blowers

New Leaf Blower Ordinance Effective 2024

On November 17, 2022, the City Council adopted a new leaf blower ordinance that restricts times of use and limits the noise from leaf blowers, effective January 1, 2024. The new regulations limit the hours of operation of all leaf blowers (both gas-powered and battery/electric-powered) from 8 AM-5:30 PM Monday through Saturday. The use or operation of leaf blowers will not be permitted at any time on Sundays and public observed holidays as identified in Chapter 9, Section 5-9.01 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code.

The ordinance also limits the noise level of all leaf blowers to not exceed 65 decibels (dB) at a distance of 50 feet as specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for leaf blowers. This is equivalent to the sound of a washing machine. Residents are also required to carry the manufacturer’s sticker on their leaf blower certifying 65 dB compliance, or a certification by the Public Works Director or designee. The manufacturer's label will indicate the model's dB at 50 feet from the sources. Additionally, The Town Ordinance prohibits modifications to the muffler or the manufacturer’s noise suppression system after certification of the leaf blower.

If you’re in the market to buy a new leaf blower, go green, go clean and go electric. The State of California passed AB 1346 in 2021, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), phasing out Small Off-Road Engines (SORE) such as gas leaf blowers by 2024. That means that by January 2024 electric leaf blowers will be the only option available in stores.

Don’t worry, you have 2023 to make the switch and to tell your landscapers, contractors and neighbors about our new time of use and noise limit. Although gas options will continue to be permitted by 2024, the Town recommends going electric so you have more options.
By January 2024, the Town will convert all gas leaf blowers to electric and will begin converting expired lawn equipment as well. It will be an adjustment, but the reduction in noise, greenhouse gasses and NOX is worth it. Let’s work together to make Los Altos Hills quieter, greener, and cleaner.

Trails

Status of All Trail Segments Completed and a List of Future Segments in the Pipeline

Though the Town’s Public Works team tackled many tasks in 2022, the pathway system expansion and upgrade was the most notable. Approximately one mile of paths were upgraded and sections were added in the following areas: Altamont Plunge, Barley Hill Road to Clausen Court, La Paloma Road to Robleda Road and the Natoma Oaks Subdivision to South Fork Lane. Paths located at Bryne Preserve Plunge, Edgerton Road to Ursula Lane, and Matadero Creek were also upgraded and improved. The newly upgraded paths were designed and constructed by the Town’s Public Works team. Additionally, the Natoma Oaks subdivider constructed a roadside path along the northside of Natoma Oaks Lane and an off-road path connecting Natoma Oaks Lane to the off-road path along Materdero Creek, behind Edgerton Road.

In addition to this completed work, Public Works staff is designing and planning construction to complete more paths Future plans include expanding roadside paths on Briones Way, Concepcion Road, La Paloma Road, Page Mill Road crossing at Foothills Park (City of Palo Alto), Summerhill Road, and the one off-road path connecting Fremont Road with Redwood Grove (City of Los Altos).

Sewer Update

Implementing Changes to Improve the Sewer System and Reduce the Potential for Spills and Backups

On May 25, 2022, Town of Los Altos Hills City Council approved a resolution to increase sewer charges in the Palo Alto and Los Altos sewer basins for the next five years, beginning in FY 2022-2023. The sewer fee increase is used to fund our share of infrastructure downstream as well as being used to repair sections of our sewer conveyance system that need the most attention. The plan is to continue to invest in this asset for next four years to improve the sewer system and reduce the potential for spills and backups.

This year, the Town performed lift station upgrades, root foaming of the existing sewer system and analysis for the Adobe Creek Sewer System maintenance.

The Town owns two lift stations, one on Purissima Road and the other on O’Keefe Lane. The Purissima Road lift station consists of four 23 horsepower (hp) sewage pumps, with two pumps in a dry well and the other two in a wet well. Both sewage pumps in the wet well were upgraded in 2022. The Town also added one spare pump so each well has a backup. At the O’Keefe Lane lift station, the lift station consists of two 3 hp sewage pumps. This lift station was upgraded in 2022 by replacing both aging sewage pumps with new ones.

To provide maintenance and prevent overflows, the Town performed root foaming on 47,300 LF of public sanitary sewer mains to kill and stunt the growth protruding roots in sewer mains.

The Adobe Lane Sewer system has a capacity bottleneck, delineated in the 2018 Wastewater Collection System Master Plan prepared by Woodard & Curran. In 2021, Freyer & Laureta, Inc. (F&L) prepared an engineering analysis to address pipe defects and propose improvements to the Adobe Creek Sewer System, including addressing capacity issues on Adobe Lane. The F&L engineering analysis report was finalized and presented to the Town in December 2022.

Look forward to the next tranche of 17 sections of pipe being improved through the first half of 2023. Our goal is to reduce deficiencies and maintain the conveyance system. In partnership with West Bay Sanitary District, we hope to keep our system clear, operational and free of deficiencies.