Richard Ogawa, Gardenland CEO Reacts to the California Air Resource Board’s Revised Regulation – watch the interview on Channel 7 ABC News

December 10, 2021 – Zack Fuentes from Channel 7 ABC News interviewed Richard Ogawa, owner and CEO of Gardenland Power Equipment about California AB 1346.

Improving the climate and environment, part of our efforts to build a better Bay Area. The California Air Resources Board is doing their part and will soon require engines and equipment like leaf blowers to be zero emission.

The new rule takes effect in 2024. As ABC7’s Zack Fuentes reports, people in the landscaping industry agree that there is a need to reduce carbon emissions, but say 2024 is just too soon.

Richard Ogawa owns Garden Land Power Equipment and Campbell. Within the last 10 years, he’s worked to transition the business to become a battery leader for landscape equipment in the Bay Area.

“A lot of our clients are corporate campuses, right and school districts, and a lot of them have had this kind of going converting from gas to battery initiative,” said Ogawa.

It’s given him a helpful head start ahead of the California Air Resources Board’s approval of a state assembly bill by 2020. For most newly manufactured off-road engines like in landscape equipment have to be zero emission. It impacts equipment made for model year 2024 and beyond only any equipment that was made before that can still be used and sold.

“We want to have a greener environment and be part of that whole initiative, and we commend people’s efforts to doing that. The problem is it’s just timing, transition and making sure that we’ve got all the things in place to make sure that we can be successful in doing this transition.”

That transition, according to the National Association of Landscape Professionals, will be extremely costly for the 55,000 small landscape businesses in the state, though $30 million has been put aside to support the transition. The association says it won’t be enough.

San Jose resident Martin Straczynski has been pushing for a local ban on small gas powered motors for nearly a decade now. He says long term, the board’s move is a good one, but it doesn’t do anything for the short term that only addresses the sale of these tools. It doesn’t address the use of these tools.

Ogawa also says customers have told him they may go out of state or online to continue to buy gas powered tools. He also says local charging and battery disposal infrastructure for the upcoming added demand isn’t where it needs to be. Still, he says, there is a silver lining. “If I wasn’t invested in the battery like we are today, I would be really worried.”

The California Air Resources Board Amends Zero-Emission Regulation

On December 9th, the California Air Resources Board approved AB1436 that will require most newly manufactured small off-road engines such as those found in leaf blowers, lawn mowers and other equipment be zero emission starting in 2024. Portable generators, including those in recreational vehicles, would be required to meet more stringent standards in 2024 and meet zero-emission standards starting in 2028. Click here to read changes to California’s Zero-Emission regulation.