Gardening economics: low-tech, labor intensive businesses jeopardized by leaf blower ban.

Beyond the rhetoric about property fights and worker empowerment that came up during the debate over leaf blowers are some hard economic realities.

The pending ban approved last week represents a key business roadblock - so much so that it prompted a few to perform hunger strikes in front of City Hall. The gardeners - largely low-income Latinos - say the ban could cost them as much as a quarter of their monthly revenues.

"This (ordinance) is killing us financially," said Solomon Sanchez, a 37-year-old father of three who nets $1,000 a month in cash as a gardener.

He expects to lose about $250 a month as a result of the ordinance, the equivalent of a full week's salary.

"Taking away the blower means taking away our business," said Sanchez, who spoke in Spanish. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

The controversy over leaf blowing spotlights the economics of being in the gardening business, which over the years has reflected the shifting demographics of L.A.'s ethnic population - as well as the schism that exists between the city's very rich and very poor.

It also illustrates how precarious a low-wage, low-tech, labor-intensive business can be.

A large percentage of residential gardening and landscape businesses in L.A. are tiny operations, many with less than three employees; they are what economists call "micro-entrepreneurs."

There are no formal studies on the number of gardeners in L.A., although some observers say there may be as many as 65,000 people, mostly men, doing gardening work.

"These micro-entrepreneurs basically thrive in labor-intensive types of businesses," said Natin Bhatt, associate director at the USC Business Expansion Network, a community development program. "To them, losing an hour's worth of productivity is a much greater problem than it would be for a bigger business."

A typical micro-entrepreneur in the gardening business might employ two workers and groom about a dozen properties each day. Prices vary somewhat, but typically they run about $15 per visit, or $60 a month. That amounts to anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 a month.

Gardeners say they usually need 15 to 20 minutes to clean an average yard - but that's with a blower. Replace the blower with a rake and a broom, and the economics change dramatically.

Simply put, fewer homes can be serviced in any given day.

As of late last week, it appeared that Mayor Richard Riordan would not veto the leaf blower ordinance. which was upheld by last Tuesday by the City Council. The statute bans the use of gas-powered blowers within 500 feet of residential areas. Violations are punishable by fines of up to $270.

What does a gardener do? None of the options are very appealing.

The most obvious step is to raise prices. That's what Arnaldo Castillo plans to do. Castillo, who employs three gardeners, intends to make up for the loss in business by increasing his rates from $15 a visit to $25.

"Logically, if you're going to spend more lime on a yard, you should be paid more money," he said. "The problem is. I don't think my customers will want to pay it."

That's the problem. In an industry that has very few barriers to entry, requiring little or no training and minimal language skills, the doors are wide open for recent immigrants.

Many of these new arrivals are willing to work for very little, and when one business raises prices - even because of the leaf blower ban - another is likely to come in and undercut it.

If businesses like Castillo's lose customers as a result of price increases, it means less work for people like Sanchez. Or if, as a result of stiff competition, gardeners continue to charge the same rates for a job that takes twice as long, it will mean less income for the same amount of work. Either way, gardeners say they stand to lose.

If prices aren't raised, the gardener could let one of his workers go. But that also would cut down on productivity, meaning fewer properties groomed each day.

Another possibility: Move the business to a part of L.A. County that doesn't have the ban. Except that means competing with services that already are well established.

One final option: Ignore the ban and risk being fined.

Bhatt agrees that gardeners will see a drop in income, but he suspects it will not be lasting. In an industry where the supply of laborers is so elastic, change is common.

"This is a survival business with very flexible people who are willing to change and willing to serve the supply and demand," said Bhatt. "In their own right, they are entrepreneurs."

To some, gardeners have become the latest symbol of L.A.'s class divisions. Many of those supporting the leaf blower ban come from the wealthiest neighborhoods - including several celebrities.

For example, "Mission: Impossible" star Peter Graves and actress Julie Newmar of "Catwoman" fame have been ardent advocates of the ban.

At the City Council heating last week, Pacific Palisades-resident Graves spoke about how the homeowners and gardeners alike "are all victims of this machine."

But opponents of the ban say the ordinance was designed exclusively to cater to the concerns of an elite minority of residents.

Close to a dozen opponents of the measure, including several members of the Association of Latin American Gardeners, began fasting on Jan. 3. Several gardeners, some living in makeshift tents on the south lawn of City Hall, said they plan to stay there until the ordinance is reversed.

Among the opponents is Kathleen West, owner and sole employee of Hers Lawn Service in Los Angeles, who said that the law would have a drastic impact on her $1,200 monthly income.

"I'm a single parent. This is my only means of support," said the 42-year-old West. "I'll have to get a job that pays minimum wage and give up doing what I love to do."

West said she'll have to give up about half of her gardening customers after the ordinance goes into effect.

But some gardeners seem determined to risk being slapped with fines rather than give up customers or raise their rates.

Jesus Sandoval, who owns a landscaping business in Inglewood, said he will continue to use gas-powered leaf blowers in L.A. city limits if his customers request them -just as he has done in cities like Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, where gas-powered blowers are already illegal.

"I ask (my customers), 'Do you want me to sweep and charge you more money, or do you want me to use the blower?' "said Sandoval. "They always say, 'Use the blower.'"

A ban on gas-powered leaf blowers was first approved by the City Council 13 months ago, but it was never enforced. An amended version of that ordinance was approved last week, reducing the penalty from a misdemeanor to an infraction.

Other cities in L.A. County regulate the blowers and some prohibit them altogether. Gardeners in these areas have turned to electric blowers as an alternative - although gardeners complain that these devices are much less effective than gas-powered blowers.