A local council has prohibited the use of leaf blowers before 8 a.m., in a measure supporters describe as a victory for sleep and opponents describe as theft.

The ordinance passed after testimony from nine residents, six of whom brought printed diagrams.

“I am not against leaves,” said resident Marlon Speight, who spoke for eleven minutes. “I am against the assumption that they belong to me because they landed on me.”

The Bureau of Suburban Acoustics notes the ordinance does not reduce leaf blowing but compresses it, producing a coordinated municipal surge at 8:00 a.m. that is louder than anything previously recorded.

“Before the ordinance, the noise was distributed,” said Bureau analyst Dr. Fenwick Aumont. “Now it is an event.”

Leaves themselves remain unaffected. Bureau tracking confirms that blown leaves travel an average of thirty feet, cross one property line, and return within four days on a light wind.

“No leaf has ever been removed by a blower,” Aumont said. “Leaves are only ever lent to a neighbour.”

Council will next consider a proposal on hedge trimmers, which is expected to take three sessions and end in a sign.