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When Westmount Mayor Christina Smith was campaigning in last fall’s municipal election, one of the most common issues residents raised was the noise and pollution from leaf blowers, the kind that landscapers wear on their backs to blast away leaves, grass and dirt.

But now some say Smith’s plan to ban gas-powered leaf blowers as early as this spring, and gas-powered lawn mowers next spring, is too much, too soon.

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Landscaping companies say they will have to scramble to buy expensive new electric equipment if the new rules are adopted in council next month to be implemented this spring.

“It all comes down to how much time we spend at a house and how much the client ends up paying,” said J.P. Fulginiti, owner of Westmount Landscaping.

His company has property maintenance contracts with the owners of about 130 private homes in Westmount, as well as a couple of large commercial properties. The ban on gas-powered leaf blowers will only apply to properties smaller than 20,000 square feet, but that describes most of the private properties his company maintains, Fulginiti said.