Greenburgh holds 2d public hearing on leaf blowers

The board already held hearings on the potential restrictions Jan. 11, but Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said at the time that two more hearings were scheduled to give the public more time to weigh in.

Right now, the use of leaf blowers is not allowed between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. on any weekday, before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on Saturdays and holidays, or before 11 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on Sundays.

The town had, as of the last hearing on the subject on Jan. 11, proposed to bar use of blowers on all holidays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between May 1 and Dec. 1 of this year. Feiner said at the previous meeting that the proposal could still be amended, suggesting that as an alternative, the town would be split into two halves, with leaf blowing restricted two days a week on one side of town and restricted on two different days on the other side of town.

As of the Jan. 25 public hearing, the town’s proposal had been changed to only allow leaf blowing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and on weekends between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., between May 1 and Dec. 1 of this year. The proposal will not apply to future years.

The purpose of this proposal, according to a town staff report, is “to provide a one-year period to develop a law which addresses residents’ interest in being protected from involuntary exposure to air-borne particulates and involuntarily (sic) exposure to uncomfortable levels of noise, and the community’s interest in healthy soil.”

Gasoline-powered leaf blowers are also currently not allowed to be operated in excess of 75 decibels as measured 50 feet from the line of the property where the blower is being used. In addition, operation in excess of a lower level of 55 decibels is banned from May 1 to Oct. 1. The proposed change to noise restrictions would make this apply to electric leaf blowers as well.

Despite the changes in the proposed laws, a representative from the New York State Turf and Landscape Association said he still had concerns about the proposal on banning leaf blower use during certain days for most of the year.

“I think that we’ve worked very well with summer bans in other communities and of course we’re prepared to work along with Greenburgh if we could just be a little realistic on the dates and times,” said Larry Wilson, government affairs chair for the association, who also spoke at the previous meeting.

He said banning leaf blower use all the way into December is problematic for gardeners and puts them into an uncomfortable position with some homeowners.

“We’ve tried every which way in other communities to clean up leaves during the leaf season without gas power blowers in late September, October, November and December, but we just haven’t been able to effectively do that,” he said. “We’ve been pressured by our customers, the homeowners, to cheat. We’ve been asked to come back on other days.”

Arlene McDuffie of Elmsford said she was not in support of “government-mandated lawn care.”

“To me, it just sounds like an issue between neighbors,” she said. “When I blow the leaves in my lawn, I’m doing it between certain areas when people are at work so the sound is not affecting them. I think something as simple as having a conversation between neighbors like we used to do, back in the day, would probably be more beneficial than being forced to have a mandate saying on particular days you can do it and on particular days you can’t.”

She also said that as someone who is partially disabled, a leaf blower is the easiest way for her to remove leaves from her lawn.

“I am unable to use a rake, so I use a leaf blower,” she said. “It is faster, it is easier and doing it just makes sense.”

No vote was taken on the two matters on Jan. 25. Feiner previously told the Inquirer that the proposals would likely be up for a vote sometime in February.