NewCanaaanite.com recently received the following letter(s) to the editor. Please email letters to editor@newcanaanite.com for publication here.
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In these early days of spring, as we all get our yards ready for more use, I write to renew a plea for neighborly consideration regarding the use of gasoline leaf blowers.
New Canaan has noise ordinances in place but, in the case of gas blowers, the restrictions are largely ignored by homeowners and landscapers alike. As things stand, it’s not possible to plan any activity on any day of the week, indoors or out, and be ensured of peace.
I’m not suggesting anything unreasonable or extreme; I’m suggesting we find compromises on this issue that reflect concern for, as the Town Council wrote in 2006, “the public health, safety, convenience, general welfare, peace, quality of life, and property values” of New Canaan residents.
Deborah Shaw
New Canaan
Compromise is necessary but I simply cannot imagine what that would look like. We only enjoy a few months each year without the sound of leaf blowers in our valley. People don’t know that decomposing leaves are actually the building blocks of healthy soil.
I totally agree. It’s a matter of being considerate thoughtful. There’s a movement going forward here to restrict gas powered because it creates pollution beyond extreme disturbance to us & wildlife. Restricting is not the answer environmentally.
Leaves are not evil. Leaves are a natural fertilizer for a lawn, or a natural mulch for bushes and trees. Using a mulching mower deposits the chopped-up leaves on the lawn, where they both fertilize and hold in moisture. A two-cycle gasoline engine emits more pollutants than a Ford F-150 pickup truck, and the operator is right next to it getting his lungs and his ears damaged. We’re pleased to have shrunk our lawn, and to rake leaves where necessary with hand rakes — it’s quiet, non-polluting and it’s good exercise.
For those citizens interested in learning more about the multiple hazards of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers please visit the Town of New Canaan Conservation Commission website page here: https://www.newcanaan.info/government/commissions/conservation.php
and scroll down to the Quiet Neighborhoods Update.
Thank you for your responses, Barbara, Marcy, Peter, and Chris – I’m trying to figure out how to organize the people who want to work on this. I may use the direct message function on NextDoor, unless anyone can suggest a better method?
Thanks for your letter Deborah. The non-stop leaf blower noise and pollution in our town is intolerable.
I used a mulching mower on my lawn last fall and my landscapers say it’s healthier than ever. I had a thought that each neighborhood could have a certain day where the lawns were cut but can’t figure out how that would be organized.
It’s curious to me that there is a lot of momentum to stop a cell tower going up because it possibly could have negative effects on kids, while there is almost zero effort to stop gas-powered leaf blowers running from dawn-to-dusk that quite visibly spew out carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and hydrocarbons which are documented risk factors for respiratory illness, skin cancer and heart disease. Surely I’m not the only one who thinks the constant smell of diesel fuel in the air everywhere from March – November can be good for kids? Or anyone? Let’s figure out a way to either ban gas-powered leaf blowers, or at the very least heavily restrict their usage. As a side note, are any lawn service companies around here embracing electric blowers or actively pursuing alternatives to these portable smokestacks?
The idea of limiting leaf blower use in New Canaan has come up in the past, most recently in 2022. Here’s a story from last spring on the Conservation Commission’s effort. It was brought to the Town Council Bylaws & Ordinances Committee last fall, and where they left it (I think) was that the Committee would think more about whether an amended ordinance would be effective and the Conservation Commission would consider forming a kind of steering committee to help spearhead the effort. I’m not 100% sure on that, but I think that’s where that was left, and I’m also not sure what steps have been taken since then. Maybe some of those in this thread can connect with the Conservation Commission to help out. Its next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 13.
As long as there are McMansions, there will be McLawns that need to be blown by at least 3 McBlowers. And lets not forget the McMowers that will soon follow their weekly ritual in order to impress the Joneses next door. Just off my street, 3 new home owners have clearcut their combined 8 acres of trees to about 2 acres and converted it to lawns. While we keep whining about the destruction of the Amazon forest, we do the same here with remarkable ease. Just look at the project on the Merritt parkway that has completely changed the dynamic of what was once a scenic road. That project started out about a decade ago after Sandy and has been sputtering on and off forever. Now those deforested sections will be moved by tractor when they lay down their grand landscaping plans. My point is that we will never improve if we constantly strive to look better than our neighbors, because “better” is a very relative term. My lot is very wooded and I have photographed 50 different bird species right in my yard and probably another 20 that I didn’t get on camera. It’s all there to enjoy. Say no to grass beyond meeting septic tank requirements. Grass is really a status symbol for fools.
Optimally, raking the lawn in the spring helps to aerate it as well as removing debris. Many homeowners have adopted the organic or low input approach to their landscapes and don’t dump large amounts of chemicals for the quick green and feed. What’s the source of the fanatical drive to convert landscapes into high maintenance monocrops of Kentucky Bluegrass and other problematic grass varieties?
People interested in this topic might want to put these upcoming events by the NC Beautification League on their calendars: https://www.newcanaanbeautification.org/events/
Invasives vs. natives, helping out the fireflies – all part of the same effort.