SANFORD — The practice of city staff vacuuming up leaves from urban residents is now a thing of the past.

For many years, residents in urban areas have raked their leaves to the roadside for city public works staff to pick up. In recent years, due to budget cuts, the city reduced the leaf vacuuming service to streets with catch basins, in an effort to keep them clear.

A new ordinance, approved unanimously by the city council last week, prohibits the disposal of leaves and other yard waste in a public right of way, drainage ditch or waterway. Those in violation could face a $100 fine.

Councilor Alan Walsh said the ordinance was reviewed by the property subcommittee.

“We think at the property subcommittee level that we either bite the bullet and do it for everyone ”“ which we don’t have the funds to do ”“ or we discontinue it for everyone,” he said. “We thought about it long and hard. It was not an easy decision to make.”

Walsh said that the city will conduct a “substantial” educational campaign on leaf and yard waste disposal. Leaves will have to be taken to the transfer station to be disposed of, but Walsh said he hopes some will opt to compost them.

“It’s one of those things that really came down to what’s fair for everybody,” said Mayor Thomas Cote.

It wasn’t fair, he said, to provide the service to a fraction of the population.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.