Politics & Government

Leaf Blower Ban Sought by Residents

CALM - Citizens Against Leaf Blower Mania want selectmen to impose spring-to-fall ban on noisy leaf blowers.

A group of Greenwich residents want some ‘CALM.’

And they’re looking for it town-wide. Citizens Against Leaf Blower Mania is a group requesting the Board of Selectmen impose a moratorium on the use of the loud, annoying gas-power leaf blowers from April 15 until Oct. 15. The group, lead by Maher Avenue resident and environmental lawyer Gretchen Biggs, made its plea to the Board of Selectmen Thursday.

Biggs said, “It is virtually impossible to work, talk on the telephone, even with the windows closed from March until December” because of the noise generated by landscapers’ equipment. Biggs spoke for a about a dozen residents who attended the Town Hall meeting. She said, they want the ban in an attempt to eliminate “toxic fumes, dust, pesticides” that are blown by the machines producing “hurricane force winds” and noise that can be heard up to a quarter-mile away.

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“Since when does my neighbors desire to have a (pristine) lawn trump my desire to stay on my patio with family and breathe in fresh air. I have a right to enjoy my property,” Biggs said.

She said the existing town noise ordinance allows the use of the blowers every day of the year and enforcement means police must witness offenders using the equipment.

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 “We are asking that you impose a ban from April 15 until October 15,” Biggs said. The group believes the time frame gives landscapers and homeowners enough time to use the machines to clear their yards of seasonal debris.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said he had requested the health department send a representative to Thursday’s meeting. However, department officials were conspicuously absent.

Under questioning from Tesei, the town’s special counsel, attorney John Wetmore said, his department could review the issue and draft a legislative proposal that would need approvals from the selectmen and the Representative Town Meeting.

The selectmen said they supported exploring imposition of a ban but doubted whether action could be taken quickly because of a May 20 deadline to submit items for the June RTM meeting. Tesei said he would like a proposal drafted and a joint public hearing held by the selectmen and the Board of Health before submitting it for a vote.

The requested noise ban also has the support of long-time environmental activist Peter Malkin, who supported similar requests since 1993. “I will present you copies of a letter I wrote in 1993 supporting a ban,” Malkin said. “I urge enactment of an ordinance. Since we have moved from mid-country to West Elm Street (in downtown) I can” notice the increase noise from landscapers, Malkin said.

Graham O’Gorman, owner of Greenspace, a Greenwich organic landscaping firm, voiced his support of the ban. He predicted landscaping contractors would support it because it would mean working longer hours to perform lawn services manually rather than relying upon machines.

 


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