Opinion

Letters to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Send letters to editor@newcanaante.com to have them published here. (We will publish letters related to the leaf blower ban and referendum through July 22.)

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The single biggest weakness in the Gas Powered Leaf Blowers ordinance is that the ordinance’s stated objective is reducing impacts from leaf blowers, yet its exemptions allow many of the same impacts to continue based solely on the identity of the user (resident, DPW, utility, etc.) rather than on measurable factors such as noise level, decibel output, duration, or proximity to homes. It says the noise is unacceptable when a contractor uses a leaf blower however is acceptable when a homeowner does. That distinction is difficult to justify based on the stated environmental or quality-of-life objectives.

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Op-Ed: Good Intentions Don’t Always Make Good Policy

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A recent flurry of local Op-Eds has framed New Canaan’s upcoming summer gas leaf blower ban as a simple battle between public health and those clinging to “cheap, destructive” habits. These pieces employ a familiar rhetorical device: painting opponents as selfish, short-sighted, or anti-science instead of debating the actual mechanics of the law. But that misses the mark. It assumes bad faith where there is none. We can freely concede that the proponents’ hearts are in the right place.

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Letter to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com. (We will publish referendum-related letters through July 22.)

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Dear Editor, 

New Canaan should approach the leaf blower referendum with respect for everyone involved. 

Supporters of the ordinance have valid concerns about noise, health and the environment.  Opponents have equally valid concerns about fairness, enforcement and the impact on local businesses.  The referendum gives the town the opportunity to reconsider the rule thoughtfully because a one size fits all doesn’t apply. In town residents have different concerns than those living on larger parcels of land.  And, what about the families who maintain their own property.  

Enforcement is one concern.  A gas powered blower may be used only briefly, making violations difficult to verify and creating conflict among neighbors not to mention police resources, too.  

Transition is another.  Commercial landscapers face greater challenges than homeowners when converting to electric equipment including battery capacity, strength, charging, storage and costs. A better approach would be to review the broader noise ordinance, landscaping hours, and other practical measures while allowing time for technology and potential state incentives to improve for the landscaping business that would be enduring this additional expense which is ultimately passed onto the consumer.

Opinion

Letters to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com. (We will publish referendum-related letters through July 22.)

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A good law is one that folks can follow. Recently, the Town Council passed, in a bi-partisan vote, an ordinance to ban gas-powered leaf blowers from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I know this because I was not only one of the yes votes on Town Council for the ban, but I also sit on the sub-committee that helped write the ordinance.

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Op-Ed: Big Feelings in Little New Canaan

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Let me be perfectly transparent: I love a lawn. I love my lawn. During my Manhattan-commuting years, pulling into the driveway and seeing that velvety green expanse was a balm, an antidote to the day’s air-conditioned banality. Lawns signify more than just grass; they’re a Norman Rockwell-coded page in the visual language of the American Dream. Dads mowing in shirtsleeves, a dog named Fido, cartwheels, catch, daisychains, a Rocket Pop. 

In New Canaan, where a competitive, Town & Country version of that dream prevails at all times, lawns matter.