Medina has wanted to retire gas-powered leaf blowers for three years. The City Council adopted a goal of phasing them out by January 2028 and has held four study sessions on the subject since October 2025. The city's own Public Works crews have already given up gas blowers for half the year. The half they gave up runs from April through September. In leaf season, Medina's crews can still use gas as their main equipment, and so can your landscaper. Every draft so far has treated fall as the season to leave for last, or to leave open for good.
That explains why early November in Medina sounds the way it always has, even with a phase-out on the books. It also tells you what to watch when the council takes the topic up again.
The city's crews switch back every October
Medina Public Works follows a written seasonal blower policy, which was included in the council's study materials. Here is the fall and winter half, word for word:
"Gas-powered blowers may be used as the primary equipment due to wet conditions, heavy leaf accumulation, and reduced performance of battery-powered units."
From April through September, crews do not use gas blowers, and battery models are the standard. From October through March, battery blowers are still allowed "for light-duty work or in noise/air-quality sensitive areas when conditions allow."
This policy sits at the center of the debate. The city has stated, in its own operating rules, that battery equipment struggles with the wet, heavy leaf loads of a Puget Sound November. Any citywide rule for private property has to deal with that same problem, because a landscaper clearing a long, tree-lined Medina driveway in the rain faces the conditions city crews do.
Three years of goals and no fixed date
The council has come back to the subject at regular intervals since 2023.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| September 11, 2023 | Council adopts Resolution 435, a goal to phase out gas blowers "By January 2028, or later if necessary" |
| 2023 | City survey returns 231 mailed postcards |
| October 27, 2025 | Council reaffirms Resolution 435 but reaches no consensus on a ban date |
| November 19, 2025 | Staff present a draft code framework |
| June 8, 2026 | Another council study session |
| September 28, 2026 | Study session asks council for direction on scope, phasing and effective dates |
Resolution 435 sets two goals. One covers the city and its contractors. The other covers Medina's institutions, businesses and residents. It also directs outreach and encourages Public Works to switch to electric or battery equipment when feasible. It does not ban anything and sets no fines.
The 2023 survey shows the split the council has been working with. Of the 231 postcards returned, 122 named noise as a concern, 70 named pollution and 67 named nothing. Respondents preferred electric over gas 142 to 54, with 17 choosing neither. On further limits to blower hours, though, the count was close: 104 in favor and 96 against. Written comments split the same way. Some residents asked for enforcement, shorter hours or a ban. Others wanted Sunday work to stay allowed or raised concerns about landscaper costs and how well alternatives work.
By roughly three to one, respondents preferred electric. On how far to restrict hours, they divided almost evenly. A seasonal approach fits that split, which helps explain why the council has kept coming back to it.
The October 2025 discussion followed the same lines. According to the staff summary in the September 28, 2026 council packet, some council members wanted a complete ban no later than January 2028 and would move it up to 2027 if possible. Others wanted outreach and education before any firm date. Views "varied on whether to allow seasonal use (October – March)" either during a phase-in or permanently. The council did agree that gas blowers should be allowed in emergencies such as a major storm.
What the draft would change, and how it handles fall
The draft code framework from November 2025 was attached again to the September 2026 packet as the starting point for discussion. It is a proposal, not law. Here is what it contains:
- A full ban on gas leaf blowers after a date the council has not yet chosen.
- A seasonal ban from April 1 to September 30 during the phase-in. Use from October 1 to March 31 stays allowed, and the framework notes that seasonal use "can be part of the permanent regulations."
- Gas use allowed during an emergency and for seven calendar days after it ends.
- Room for special-use exceptions, with roof cleaning given as the example.
- A ban on blowing debris from one property to another, including into the street.
- Enforcement under Medina's code enforcement chapter, MMC 1.15, with both the operator and the property owner responsible.
Three of these items matter most for homeowners. The seasonal dates follow the Public Works policy almost exactly. So if the phase-in matches the draft, the first restrictions would land in spring, and leaf season would remain open the longest. The debris rule could apply in any season, and it targets a common fall practice, pushing leaves to the curb. And because the framework names the property owner as well as the operator, a homeowner who hires a crew would share responsibility. That is why the council's earlier direction asked for a campaign encouraging homeowners to request electric blowers from their landscaping vendors.
Outreach also reaches beyond individual lots. The October 2025 direction called for a city webpage, email newsletters, notices to landscape vendors and notices to large property owners, naming Overlake Golf Course. The next steps staff listed in September 2026 included public outreach, notice of a hearing, social media, direct mail to residents and to 276 registered businesses, and a study of whether enforcement is feasible. Staff also reported that the city bought an electric blower in 2025 but had not yet started the broader outreach Resolution 435 calls for.
What applies on your street this November
With no ordinance adopted, the rules in effect this fall are the existing ones. Medina's noise code sets limits of 55 decibels in residential areas and 60 in commercial areas. Leaf blowers and other powered equipment are exempt from those limits when a resident, or the Overlake Golf and Country Club, uses them to maintain property between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends. Hired crews follow a separate, tighter schedule. Under the city's work-hours rule, quoted in the council's 2025 materials, professional yard maintenance and landscaping is allowed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or legal holidays. A 2025 staff memo explains that the exemption is why a decibel-based approach would require changing the noise code itself. That change would go through SEPA review and a 90-day Department of Ecology review and comment period.
Collection runs on its own schedule. Medina contracts with Republic Services for garbage, recycling and yard waste. Under Republic's 2026 rate sheet for Medina and nearby communities, effective January 1, 2026, food scraps and yard debris are picked up every other week. Compost service is $13.66 a month plus $2.24 for cart rental. In heavy weeks, extra yard waste can go next to the cart in Kraft paper bags, in a lidded 32-gallon can of up to 65 pounds, or in twine-tied bundles no larger than 4 feet by 2 feet, labeled "yard waste." Each extra 32-gallon unit costs $5.92. Neither the city nor Republic lists a separate leaf-only pickup program. Leaves go out with regular yard waste.
On the street side, Medina's street maintenance page says winter sweeping happens Mondays and Tuesdays as needed, with routes depending on weather, debris and city priorities. The city's stormwater guidance notes that runoff carries street debris into storm drains, which leads to the lake. Leaves blown to the curb in November end up in the same system.
All of this is general information about current rules and published rates, not legal advice. If you have questions about a specific property or service contract, check with the City of Medina or Republic Services directly.
Medina's neighbors are no further along
Medina's timeline is typical of the area. Seattle's council adopted Resolution 32064, which set goals for city and contractor phase-out by January 2025 and a public phase-out by January 2027. The city's Department of Construction and Inspections still describes a proposal "to explore phase-out and/or ban options" as in development. MyNorthwest reported in January 2026 that Seattle Parks bought 60 more battery blowers in 2025, was aiming for a 90% battery fleet in 2026 and planned to replace the last 10% in 2027. A citywide ban had no clear path.
Kirkland extended its Electric Equipment Initiative in December 2025. Its current target is to retire gas handheld and backpack blowers by December 31, 2028. Its $100 trade-in voucher was limited to Kirkland residents, and the city's initiative page now says it is no longer accepting blowers for exchange. Medina's January 2028 goal falls between Seattle's January 2027 public target, which has no binding ban behind it yet, and Kirkland's later one. None of the three has a binding ban in effect today.
The next council date
The September 28 study session was held in person only and was not recorded, a standard format for Medina study sessions. The packet asked for direction and proposed no motion. The October 26 agenda was devoted to the 2027 legislative agenda and did not include a leaf blower item. It lists the next special and regular council meeting for Monday, November 9, 2026, at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 501 Evergreen Point Road.
When a draft ordinance does come forward, the dates for October through March will show whether Medina plans a full phase-out by January 2028 or a permanent fall exception. The Public Works policy already uses fall as its exception. Medina is a city that brings in a rented herd of goats each summer to care for its public woods, so a seasonal compromise on leaf blowers would be in keeping with how it handles land management elsewhere.
How a Medina property is maintained, from its trees and grounds to the crews that care for them, affects both daily life there and how the home presents when it is time to sell. If you would like to talk through what the town's changing rules mean for your property, Melissa Boucher is glad to help. Let's Connect.