I always thought people out East who have those insane piles of leaves wouldn't have to deal with the bans, at least not until battery technology was much, much better. Admittedly where I typically work in CA a backpack blower is often overkill, but I've watched some videos of guys out East moving massive piles of leaves that we never see out West. If VA is following the CA template then maybe/hopefully they will also offer a version of CA's "CORE voucher program". For a period of at least 1 year professional landscapers/gardeners/maintenance hacks could apply through their local Stihl dealer and once approved there was list of equipment that the state would pay about 66% of the cost. The approval process was easy--it's been a few years but I think all I needed to provide was a business card and my local dealer vouched that I was a professional because I do not have an "official" landscaper's license. I got about $10k worth of equipment for about $3500 or so. Regardless, I still think a leaf blower ban in area with that massive Fall leaf drop is insane. Battery technology just isn't there yet. Different areas need different policies.
