There are cities focused on crime. Cities focused on roads. Cities focused on keeping taxes under control. And then there’s Ann Arbor, where officials use their time to worry about what kind of leaf blower you’re using during the summer months.
The city’s summer ban on gas-powered leaf blowers is once again in effect, meaning residents and landscapers can be fined for using the wrong yard equipment from June 1 through Sept. 30.
First offense? At least $100. Second offense? At least $250. The city even encourages residents to report violations. Nothing says “good neighbor” quite like turning your landscaping preferences into a police matter.
Leftist Ann Arbor officials argue the ban reduces noise, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. The ordinance is part of a larger phaseout that will completely prohibit gas- powered leaf blowers citywide beginning in 2028.
Seriously people, if they told you you could only walk your dogs from 11 am to 2 pm, would you comply?? What about if they told you what color mulch you could use? Or when you can barbecue a hamburger in your own back yard?
At some point, local government crosses the line between governing and unconstitutionally micromanaging everyone’s lives. And Ann Arbor is there.
If your neighbor’s leaf blower is too loud, there’s already a solution: talk to your neighbor about not blowing leaves while you are trying to sleep. If you don’t like the smell, go inside for twenty minutes. That’s generally how free adults handle minor annoyances.
Instead, Ann Arbor continues its long tradition of treating residents like participants in their citywide leftist lifestyle experiment.
Until then, residents in Ann Arbor should join together to IGNORE THEM – and offer Ann Arbor the traditional response reserved for self-important busybodies: a collective middle finger. And find an attorney.