A temporary moratorium on the enforcement of Evanston’s gas-powered leaf blower ordinance has been enacted in response to community concerns over the increased presence of federal agents, the city announced Wednesday.
The moratorium’s purpose is to ensure landscapers’ safety and mitigate confusion regarding reporting of an ordinance violation by community members, according to the city’s website.
“We put a moratorium on enforcement of our leaf blower ordinance, and this is after (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) covered landscapers in Evanston just yesterday, and we received numerous requests from the community and from councilmembers to pause enforcement during this time,” Chief Legislative Policy Advisor Liza Roberson-Young said at the city’s Community Preparedness & Empowerment Seminar on Wednesday night.
Roberson-Young confirmed at the event that ICE targeted a landscaper in Evanston Tuesday.
Early Wednesday morning, an entire landscaping team was detained by ICE agents near the intersection of Waukegan Road and Church Street in Morton Grove, a Chicago suburb west of Evanston, according to an Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights alert sent around 11:18 a.m.
The moratorium is one of the efforts the city has taken to protect residents against federal agents. Since the beginning of the year, the city has strengthened its Welcoming City ordinance and more recently, City Council voted to establish “ICE free zones” on city property.
The leaf blower ordinance was adopted by the City Council in 2021, banning the use of gasoline or propane-powered leaf blowers after April 1, 2023.
Previously, violations of the ordinance with a signed witness statement and detailed description of the violation taking place were to be submitted to the city during business hours or to the Evanston Police Department’s non-emergency line outside of business hours. Violators received written warnings for first offenses and then increasing fines for further violations.
This will not be enforced under the temporary moratorium, which is effective through Dec. 31.
On Oct. 14, Oak Park also issued temporary changes to the enforcement of its own ban on gasoline-powered leaf blowers in reaction to heightened activity of federal agents in the area. Tickets for the use of these leaf blowers will only be issued to property owners in the village, rather than contractors.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Evanston bans gas- and propane-powered leaf blowers
— City Council changes existing leaf blower usage restrictions
— Sustainability coordinator shares CARP progress, shortcomings at City Council meeting
