If she knew when they would be coming, Linda Wong would happily go somewhere else.

But Wong is never quite sure when the yard men and their roaring leaf blowers will pass beneath her bedroom window and render her peaceful Pualei Circle home a den of din.

It's worse when Wong is suffering one of her frequent migraine headaches.

"It hurts like crazy," she said. "I close the doors and windows and go to bed, but I can still hear it."

With 13 condominiums close to one another, each with their own grounds and landscapes to maintain, the noise is all too frequent and, to Wong and many of her neighbors, almost criminal.

Wong is one of several Pualei Circle residents who intend to offer testimony in support of a bill that would set new restrictions on how and when leaf blowers can be used in residential areas. A hearing on Senate Bill 466 is scheduled for Tuesday.

Blowers are currently subject to existing noise laws, but are not specifically addressed. The proposed legislation would restrict the use of leaf blowers to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays), and only at a level of 70 decibels or less. The noise produced by older gas-powered blowers has been measured as high as 80 dB. However, most newer models, both gas and electric, operate at or around the 70 dB level. The noise produced can vary depending on throttle usage or selected settings.

The bill would also prohibit leaf blowers from being used within 10 feet of windows, doors and ducts, and limit the time a blower may be used to between 15 minutes and two hours, depending on the size of the lot being serviced. Provisions of the bill are specific to leaf blowers, and do not set limits on weed-whackers and other gardening equipment.

A similar bill in the House would also limit leaf-blower use to the 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours as part of existing disorderly conduct laws. The proposed amendment is also specific to leaf blowers.

CITIES TAKING ACTION

Spurred by environmental groups concerned over the environmental and health impacts primarily associated with gas-powered leaf blowers, cities and municipalities have moved with increased momentum over the past few years to severely restrict or ban the widely used maintenance tool. Tarrytown, Yonkers, Hastings, Rye and Dobbs Ferry in New York have all enacted legislation to ban leaf blowers, triggering a significant backlash from hundreds of landscapers who say their businesses have been harmed by the new laws.

In California, 27 cities have passed laws that ban or restrict leaf blower use. Laguna Beach and Santa Monica have laws banning all leaf blowers; Los Angeles, Berkeley, Sacramento, Claremont and Beverly Hills have banned only gas-powered models. Sacramento enacted restrictions on hours of use, proximity to residences and decibel levels. Opponents have repeatedly introduced legislation seeking to throw out or amend these rules, citing the lower decibel and emissions levels of newer models of leaf blowers.

Proposed bans of leaf blowers have been introduced to the Hawai'i Legislature in previous sessions but failed to gain the necessary support. Wong she hopes the newer, more flexible legislation will allow her and other condo dwellers a measure of relief.

Wong said she would have preferred to resolve the issue between associations, but, while some condos arrange for their properties to be maintained with rakes and brooms, others continue to employ businesses that use leaf blowers.

"I understand curbability and wanting to sell these units at $650,000, but there has got to be some peace and quiet sometime," she said.

ECONOMICS A FACTOR

Peace and quiet could come with a price.

Steve DeWald, owner of Steve's Gardening Service, said leaf blowers are the most efficient and cost-effective way to remove leaves and other debris from large landscaped areas. The alternatives, he said, can be much less efficient and much more expensive.

"I see the point because I wouldn't want these things blowing outside my house at 6 a.m.," he said. "But it would be very difficult to maintain and groom townhouse complexes and other large areas (without blowers)."

DeWald said using quieter electric blowers is not feasible — "Can you imagine having to drag a 500-foot cord around a parking lot?" he said — and raking debris requires much more time and can be damaging to landscapes.

"People need to realize that a rake is not a substitute for a blower," he said. "Hawai'i has soft ground cover. If there is debris, you can't rake through it without damaging what's underneath."

And, DeWald warned, the extra maintenance time that the new restrictions would cause will ultimately end up costing the residents whose properties are being maintained.

"Prices will go up across the board," said DeWald, whose business provides service to private residences, shopping malls and townhouse complexes. "A lot of people who are complaining don't realize that there will be repercussions when their association fees go up. It's a double-edged sword."

Mike Ward, co-owner of Aloha Power Equipment, said his business sells about 500 leaf blowers each year.

He said that while older gas-powered blowers may exceed the proposed 70 dB limit, newer gas and electric models operate at or below the limit.

"Of course, if you trade in your 72 dB blower for a 65 dB one, you're still going to piss off your neighbors," he said.

Ward said he makes it a policy to urge customers who purchase blowers to use them responsibly.