San Jose residents have been clamoring for a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers for years, complaining about their noise and pollution. In response, the City Council began reviewing a proposal to encourage the use of electric leaf blowers through a subsidy program.
The city is moving forward with a green subsidy more than a year and a half later — but it won’t be for electric leaf blowers.
Instead, councilmembers unanimously approved a $100,000 program Tuesday to incentivize local contractors to carry out home heat pump installations. The decision came after staff ran a side-by-side comparison of various low-emission technologies…