Starting June 1st, 2024 there is a summer-long ban in the City of Ann Arbor that applies to gas-powered leaf blowers. Below we’ll make sure you are informed about the new law and tell you about the actions Good Guys is taking as an Ann Arbor lawn care provider.
What Law?
In December 2023, the City of Ann Arbor passed a new law to phase out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. This law will be enacted gradually, starting this year with a summer ban that spans from June 1 to September 30. The summer ban will continue annually until 2028 when the full ban will take effect. Starting in 2028, gas-powered blowers will be completely phased out and their use will not be permitted within the City of Ann Arbor. Click here for more information from the City’s website.
Compliance? Check!
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Good Guys is deeply rooted in our community and dedicated to the clients we serve. Following this new law is not merely a requirement for us – it’s a source of pride. We plan to launch our brand new fleet of electric blowers on or before June 1st, 2024. While there’s still some work ahead, we’re aiming to be ready and couldn’t be more excited!
What Should I Expect after June 1?
Beginning June 1st annually, service providers that rely on gas-powered blowers, must find an alternative solution between June-Sep. For Good Guys, this means going electric – if you reside in the City of Ann Arbor, you’ll see our electric blowers in action! Electric blowers are much quieter than their gas counterparts. However, you will continue hearing other gas-powered equipment such as lawn mowers, weed whackers, hedge trimmers, and similar tools, as these tools are not included in the blower ban.
Can’t You Just Go Full Electric?
To put it simply: it’s not that simple. Electric is new territory for us, and we’ve been learning as much as we can. Yet, there are still challenges. One surprising obstacle was the amount of power required to charge our new electric blower batteries – it’s so much that we needed to install a dedicated service panel. This may sound simple enough, but the reality is that we had to coordinate with several trades, including construction workers, electricians, excavators, and an underground boring company. If you’ve ever managed a project of your own, you’ll understand the time and coordination involved. An additional obstacle is that the cost of electric commercial-grade equipment can be 5-10 times the cost of homeowner-grade equipment. These challenges make going fully electric a long-term goal. In the short term, we plan to launch a fully electric mowing team so we can dive in and start understanding the process. Then, we’ll refine and scale it companywide. This is all “powerful” stuff!
Finding the Right Electric Blowers
We conducted extensive research on multiple product lines before placing an order for our new fleet of electric blowers. To our surprise, our order turned out to be the largest the regional representative has seen across the five states he manages. At first, it was uncertain if we could even get the blowers. Fulfilling our order required coordinating with other regions across the country, leading to significant waiting periods and numerous updates. When our order finally arrived in Ann Arbor it was a sigh of relief – we couldn’t be happier to finally have the electric blowers in our hands.
The Financial Aspect: Sharing The Bill
Over the past few years, Good Guys has needed to increase our prices to keep up with inflation. This has been difficult but necessary to keep our doors open while providing living wages and benefits for our staff members. Today, we face a significant cost to comply with the summer ban, and if we bear the full cost ourselves, it will set back our efforts to keep up with inflation and continue supporting our employees.
To balance our commitment to our clients with our company’s fiscal responsibility, we will cover a significant portion of the costs ourselves. We have kindly asked for our clients’ support in covering the remainder, which amounts to a minor, one-time annual fee for those who reside within the City of Ann Arbor.
Looking To The Future, Together.
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” You might recognize this classic line from the movie Back to the Future. Similarly, we’re excited and optimistic about the future and the fact that we’re forging a new road for generations to come.
We are committed to adhering to the City of Ann Arbor’s summer ban as we prepare for full implementation in 2028. We are also thrilled to venture into the fully electric space with the launch of an electric mowing team in the near future. This initiative will provide insights into what is needed to make a full transition to electric sustainable and scalable down the line.
We’re grateful for our clients who reside in the City of Ann Arbor and value their pioneering spirit. Good Guys has long been dedicated to fostering change within our industry. We’ve shared our progress in our annual newsletters, and we’re excited to continue pioneering alongside you for many more years to come.
In closing, we would like to thank our clients for their understanding and continued trust in us. We deeply value our clients and hope they value the endeavors we are focused on as their service provider.
Here’s to the future!
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