The saga of Winter Park’s gas-powered leaf blower ban has entered another chapter as confusion over new state legislation led commissioners to a stalemate over a referendum ordinance during their March 13 meeting.
The ban, which goes into effect in July with penalties commencing in January 2025, was unanimously approved by City Commission in January of 2022 as a means of limiting noise and environmental pollution. The option of allowing voters a say was presented to the city last month by Sen. Jason Brodeur as a compromise to a previous attempt to prevent statewide banning of the landscaping equipment. Brodeur’s intervention was in response to requests for assistance from Winter Park residents who felt the ban was unfair to citizens and small businesses.
The first reading of an ordinance delaying fines until June of 2025 and placing a yes/no choice to repeal the ban on the March 2025 ballot passed on Feb. 28 with Commissioners Sullivan and Weaver dissenting. However, at the end of the regular legislative session, Brodeur requested $100,000 from the Air Pollution Control Trust Fund for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for a study of gas and electric blowers. The budget amendment includes language that would prevent the enactment or amendment of bans on the gas-powered equipment until July of 2025.
Commissioner Marty Sullivan, citing confusion over the wording of the budget amendment, made a motion at the March 13 meeting to table the final vote until the legislation is either signed or vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I don’t see any reason to rush this through as there is some confusion,” Sullivan said. “It seems like it would be good to wait until this uncertainty is settled before we enact an ordinance too hastily.”
Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio agreed with Sullivan and seconded the motion; however, City Manager Randy Knight expressed concern that delaying the vote would impact the city’s agreement with Brodeur. When asked for clarification, City Attorney Kurt Ardaman stated there would be no conflict in tabling the vote, adding that “if you elect not to approve it, either now or at a subsequent meeting, then you’ve got an issue with Sen. Brodeur.”
Mayor Phil Anderson and Commissioner Kris Cruzada saw no reason to table the matter, leaving the vote to table at a 2-2 tie in the absence of Commissioner Todd Weaver. A motion to pass the ordinance also tied along the same lines. A follow-up motion to table until the April 10 commission meeting was passed 3-1 with Cruzada dissenting. If no decision has been reached on the state legislation by the April 10 meeting, commissioners could table the matter until their next meeting.
