“The devil is in the details” is a common saying and one that applies often when I vote on a bill. This scenario has happened several times in recent months across three pieces of legislation, and I thought it was important to share with you.
You may remember that proposed legislation in 2024 would have banned the use and sale of gas leaf blowers. No vote was ever taken. The bill was withdrawn by the sponsor after overwhelming opposition, a large portion of that coming from the landscaping industry.
At the time, industry professionals asked that the government take the lead and first impose the ban of gas leaf blowers on county government. They went on to share the enormous cost that would impact their small businesses and would undoubtedly get passed on to their customers. After the bill was withdrawn, the county executive issued an executive order to ban the use of gas power leaf blowers by county departments in a phase-out process, moving to an all-electric or battery-powered fleet by July 1, 2030.
The county owns 124 leaf blowers across several departments; 115 of them are the larger capacity backpack type. To date, the county has not had to replace or purchase a non-gas-powered blower, but officials estimate that it will cost approximately $380,000 to purchase new leaf blowers and charging equipment. Cost of electricity was not included in the analysis.
This was the fiscal information given for Bill 85-25, a bill introduced by the District 6 councilmember that codifies the executive order, making it county law. When the council discussed the proposal, I had several questions for the administration. Although I fully understood that Bill 85-25 was not a bill introduced by the county executive, it did propose to codify the executive order already underway.
My questions focused on the estimated cost of electricity to charge multiple batteries per unit for 124 units. I asked how much the county is currently spending on gas and maintenance of the existing fleet. The administration didn’t know. I asked what type of non-gas blower the county was preparing to purchase. They said they hadn’t determined that yet. I asked how many batteries they will need for each of the 124 units. The county was unsure. A lot of important details were missing.
Ironically, the same evening the council discussed and voted on this bill, we also voted on Resolution 32-25, which requests a study group to address the need for electrical grid impact review, and stated concerns about electricity demand versus electricity generation and the increasing costs to keep up with the demand and the strain on the grid at the local, state and federal levels. All things considered, and unknown, I voted against Bill 85-25. I prefer it to remain an executive order that can be adjusted at any time, especially if it becomes unsustainable as we continue to discuss the cost of electricity and strain on the grid. The bill passed 4-3.
Leaves, snow and ice have one thing in common: they cover sidewalks and should be cleared for safe passage. I have written about Bill 76-25 in the past. The bill, now in its amended form, proposes an increased fine and penalty of up to $50 for residential properties and up to $125 for any other type of property that doesn’t clear snow/ice of three inches or less in 24 hours, or more than three inches within 48 hours.
It is a complaint-driven law, but if the county is inspecting one property for a snow and ice sidewalk violation, county officials can penalize any other property in the area that they see, even if there was no complaint (per testimony at the November 17 council hearing).
If the county has to take action to clear the sidewalk using county contractors, they will bill the property owner. If the fine is not paid, the county will take action for payment through a tax lien on the property.
The administration has said that the current fine of $10 doesn’t incentivize anyone to clear the sidewalks that abut their property. County representatives have also acknowledged that there hasn’t actually been any enforcement of the existing law. If something is not being enforced, how can the county say it is not working?
There is the potential the county could waive the penalty for any reason, but it’s entirely at the discretion of the county. I continue to have concerns about the consequences of this bill; while it may be well intentioned, it could penalize residents who aren’t aware or have good reason for why they can’t clear the county sidewalk in front of their property in the required timeframe.
Pedestrians have come up in another bill before the council, Bill 81-25, which seeks to update the transportation Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO). The APFO sets standards and metrics that must be evaluated or tested for a proposed development (residential, commercial, etc.) to be approved, and an associated fee structure. The county executive formed a work group five years ago to study the current APFO and propose an updated APFO that would include calculations for multi-modal transportation (cars, bikers, pedestrians etc.).
The much-anticipated bill has had a rough start. There was no accompanying report with the bill that reviewed the five years of work that went into the proposed law change. The administration asked for the bill to be held at its first hearing in order to discuss concerns with “stakeholders,” but the administration was not able to clearly articulate the concerns before removing a large section of the bill related to biker and pedestrian infrastructure.
There have been more questions and concerns raised than answers, and frustration has spread among the council body and members of the public who have closely followed the topic. I know this may be a subject where your eyes get a bit glazed over, so I will summarize and end with my point on this piece of legislation. Just because a proposed bill claims to fix a problem, that doesn’t mean it actually does so.
After five years of work, I expected to see an overwhelming amount of supportive evidence and details - there is not. The outcome of this legislation is very much up in the air – because the devil is in the details, or lack thereof.
I wish you and your family a happy holiday season. As always, you can reach me at amanda.fiedler@aacounty.org