MAPLEWOOD -- The controversial leaf blower ban is back, and it's here to stay.

The Maplewood town council this week unanimously passed an ordinance banning commercial landscapers' use of the gas-powered blowers during the summer months - a move that cemented a pilot program enacted last year. The new rule, the town's lawmakers said, is meant to decrease noise and environmental pollution in the community.

"It's the intensity of the use. There's no recourse for someone who is affected by it," Maplewood Mayor Victor DeLuca said in a phone interview about the ordinance Thursday.

"We are just trying to keep the calm in town. To keep it quiet. We're talking about the summertime."

The new law bans the commercial use of gas-powered blowers from May 15 to Sept. 30 each year. It does not apply to residents or non-commercial associations.

During the rest of the year, landscapers can't use the machines on Sundays, and both residents and businesses can only use the blowers during certain hours the rest of the week (Mondays through Fridays the blowers can be used from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sundays, residents only can use them from 11 a.m. to 5p.m.).

The controversial ban has elicited mixed reactions from residents, and outspoken opposition from companies that serve the area, and the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association trade group.

"We are already planning to file an injunction" against the ordinance, Gail Woolcott, the association's director of operations, told NJ Advance Media Thursday. "That will at least stall them from being able to enact the ordinance."

She argued that most landscapers in the town are respectful, and use the blowers at appropriate times. Though they are not used for leaves very often in the summer, they are used, she said, to clear fertilizer from driveways and walking paths.

Woolcott also said it's difficult to quantify how much business the landscapers will lose as a result of the ordinance, but says they will be forced to use either battery-powered blowers, or rakes and brooms, which she estimated would quadruple the time they need to spend at each house, and inevitably raise prices.

She said the ban unfairly discriminated against landscapers, as residents and homeowners associations are exempt from the restriction.

But, DeLuca said he felt the different rules were fair.

"My feeling is that when an individual is using a leaf blower on his or her property, it is a one-person operation. If that person abuses that practice, they (face) neighbor pressure. You know the people on your block." Landscapers, he said, will often use three blowers at a time, and are not as sensitive to the impacts on their non-customers.

DeLuca added the town worked to perfect various aspects of the ordinance after running a pilot version of it last year.

"People, in general, in town are in favor of it," he said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.