Having recently received its certification from the American Green Zone Alliance, the city of Glendale is now the largest city in the entire country to convert all handheld landscape equipment from gas-powered to electric.
To celebrate this achievement, the city held a press conference on Tuesday to reflect on Glendale’s journey to earning this certification, as well as to explain what this accomplishment means for the city. Acting Parks Commission President Susan Wolfson shared opening remarks.
“This is the culmination of five years of engagement, hard work, collaboration and cooperation with various departments and agencies,” Wolfson said. “This is better for the workers. It’s better for the habitability of our planet, and it’s better for all of us.”
Beginning in 2019, Glendale set out on its quest to reduce pollution by converting landscape equipment to electric, starting with mini parks and landscape sites before eventually converting all city equipment, including 47 parks and facilities with more than 286 acres of developed parkland.
“The city of Glendale is leading by example for neighboring municipalities and institutions on going green and making sure that we’re working well to have a cleaner Glendale and cleaner environment not only in L.A. County, but in the nation,” Director of Community Services and Parks Onnig Bulanikian said.
Mayor Dan Brotman touted the environmental benefits this certification brings, citing a reduction of 63 tons of airborne pollutants each year and a 40%-70% reduction in noise pollution.
He thanked the American Green Zone Alliance for its help with training and education efforts on the use of electric equipment, as well as the South Coast Air Quality Management District for funding 80% of the costs associated with this equipment. The city partnered with manufacturers STIHL and Husqvarna for supplying a number of electric landscaping tools.
Dan Mabe, president of AGZA, spoke highly of these companies, saying they not only supplied tools, but they worked closely with the city on reaching its goals “through their distributorship and their dealership.” Mabe also thanked the city for its dedication to the project.
“The city was objective, diligent, adaptive and now successful,” he said. “We really want to stress how grateful we are to the mayor and Council for allowing this process to take place the way it did … I feel we have really built something that’s going to last in perpetuity.”
Brotman emphasized that the catalyst for this endeavor was when Mabe and Michael Cacciotti, vice chair of the South Coast Air Quality Management District and South Pasadena City Councilmember, came to Glendale City Council to demonstrate the benefits of electrifying landscaping five years ago.
Cacciotti also highlighted the economic benefits of electric equipment at the press conference, stating that Glendale residents will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance and fuel costs, in addition to creating a cleaner environment.
“We’re going to protect the kids [who] are in our community who have juvenile asthma, the adults that are impacted and those with compromised immune systems,” he said. “They won’t have to face the pollution, the toxic nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and organic compounds coming out of lawn mowers.
Glendale recently hosted a community event to teach residents about operating electric equipment, and the city continues to home in on outreach efforts to properly train the community on this push.
The city placed a ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers back in September 2023 and starting in September 2024, enforcement efforts will be intensified, with the following penalties for violations:
First violation: written warning notice with a request for voluntary compliance. Failure to comply within 30 days incurs a $100 administrative fine.
Second violation: $200 administrative fine.
Third violation: $500 administrative fine.
To learn more, visit glendaleca.gov/government/departments/office-of-the-city-manager/office-of-sustainability/draft-gas-powered-leaf-blower-ban.
First published in the March 30 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
