Members of New Canaan’s legislative body met two weeks ago to discuss possible next steps regarding a citizen-led campaign for a seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.
The Town Council held a meeting on June 18 where the elected body discussed gas-powered leaf blowers for more than 90 minutes, including more than 30 minutes of public comments on the issue.
Those taking to the podium, and members of a committee addressing the Town Council, spoke either in favor of a ban—citing noise, public health and environmental issues—or against it, citing business needs and potential cost to residents with larger properties.
New Canaan resident Katie Owsley, co-president of Planet New Canaan, opened the public comment section by citing several statistics in support of a seasonal ban on the leaf blowers.
“Gas-powered leaf blowers range from 90 to 100 decibels while electric ones are 60 to 90,” Owsley said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “According to the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, noise levels above 85 decibels are a health risk.”
She continued: “According to the California Air Resources Board, the operation of a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour is equal to driving a car for 15 hours.”
A former chair of the New Canaan Conservation Commission and member of the Land Trust Advisory Council, Chris Schipper, voiced a similar opinion.
“I would like to ask you to consider one thing…the risk of not acting,” he said to the Council. “Consider the risk of being seen as a safe haven of gas-powered leaf blowers as our neighbors all take action in the interest of their constituencies.”
Schipper asked the Council for a workable approach, suggesting that they start with a seasonal ban and then eventually transition to having fully electric-powered leaf blowers.
A member of the Planning & Zoning Commission and one of the five people asked to present at the meeting, John Kriz, emphasized the need for thoughtful questioning and planning in the future.
After starting a gas-powered leaf blower within town hall to demonstrate to Town Council members how loud the landscaping tool is, Kriz raised a series of questions, including whether golf courses and sports facilities would require special treatment.
New Canaan resident and a representative of Rosati Landscaping, Camillo Rosati, described the unrealistic prices that come with electric-powered leaf blowers.
“It would cost multiple thousands of dollars for the maintenance of one electric-powered backpack,” Rosati said. “This would raise the cost for customers as they would be paying for the change.”
President of First Step Landscaping, Luis Castaneda, had similar concerns.
“Current electric-powered backpacks are designed for homeowner use – not commercial,” Castaneda said. “In terms of pricing and efficiency…the technology just isn’t here yet.”
Town Council member Rita Bettino asked about the pollution that comes with throwing away the batteries of an electric-powered leaf blower.
Although resident Jon Seel brought up a recycling process for the batteries, Council member Eric Thunem raised concerns about the functionality of this process.
Many Council members agreed that a compromise could be reached, but more time would be needed before an eventual decision could be made.
Town Council Chair Michael Mauro ended the leaf blower segment of the June meeting by saying that there will be many more conversations surrounding the issue in the future, and a resolution might take some time.
I’d like to point out a correction to the article, John Kriz started an electric, not gas powered, leaf blower while speaking at the meeting.
The fact is, the level of the technology and cost of current electric leaf blowers make it impractical to implement any ban on gas powered blowers at this time.
During the fall when acres of land need to cleared of leaves whether by the homeowner or landscaping company, a walk behind blower is needed to clear anything above an acre of land. Electric versions of these walk behind blowers are virtually non-existent. From a consumers perspective, those that do are expensive and lack the run time to last more than an hour when 5 or 6 hours are needed.
The bottom line, it would cost thousands of dollars for both consumers and landscapers to replace equipment that’s already been paid for and my not need to be replaced for quite some time.
Finally, I do not believe there should be any ban or restriction on gas powered leaf blowers as it seems to be more of an issue with a small percentage of town residents when compared to the total town population. .
I have a suggestion that has worked well for my property for the past 2 years. Instead of blowing leaves with a walk behind blower, or hand held gas blower, we simply mulch them into the yard using the lawn mower. It’s better for everything! Grass gets fertilized and don’t need to take leaves anywhere. Also, leave your leaves in garden and tree beds alone over the winter.
I support a ban on gasoline leaf blowers.
Just a reminder that there are many ways to compromise on this issue. I deeply appreciated Councilman Luke Kaufman’s statement that this shouldn’t become an “us vs. them” issue.
I think Greenwich arrived at a fair solution via their noise ordinance adapted as follows: The restrictions for leaf blower usage are as below:
Gasoline-powered leaf blowers in residential zones are prohibited from 6:00 p.m. the Friday before Memorial Day through September 30, except for properties of 2+ acres where the prohibition ends the day after Labor Day.
Any leaf blower may not be used between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and between 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
Commercial use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers on premises in residential zones is prohibited on Sundays.
Commercial and/or residential parcels of one-quarter (1/4) acre or less may only be serviced by one leaf blower at any given time.
Electric leaf blowers are permitted year-round.
Why? Due to their loud noise, high level of air pollution with associated health impacts, and damage to the environment, Greenwich is joining many other municipalities around the nation transitioning away from gas leaf blower use.
If landscapers in Greenwich can adapt to this change to serve their 63,000 residents across 48 square miles, I’m sure landscapers in New Canaan can accommodate the change to serve our 21,000 residents across 22.5 square miles.
This is not a fair solution, this is a ban for the entire summer and the very definition of an us against them solution. Something fair would allow their use throughout year including the Summer.
Simply because Greenwich does it, or any other town for that matter, does not make it right. The residents of New Canaan should act, or choose to not act at all on their own and not because of a neighboring Town.
We live in 2-acre zoning. We can go days on end with surround sound leaf blower noise. We can’t enjoy our yard while these guys are working, sound permeates the walls of our house and our only escape is to get in the car and leave. So whats fair ?
Thank you, Chris. Very helpful and informative. There’s plenty of room for compromise here.
I think we could at least ban commercial use of gas blowers on Sundays. How about that?
The residents who chose to speak during public comment were heavily in favor of implementing limits on gas leaf blowers. For those who were not present, this is an important fact that is insufficiently clear in this article. Westport, Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, and Wallingford – and a large number of Westchester County NY towns – have implemented some form of ban. Given the issues with pollution, noise, and the fact that there should be little to blow during the summer season if grass clippings are bagged and composted – a seasonal ban of gas blowers is a straightforward and sensible solution. Limited blowing, if needed, can be performed with electric blowers. I’m so glad we are having this discussion and hopeful that action can be taken this summer so we can benefit the health of all our New Canaan residents. If you care about this issue and would like to connect with like minded New Canaanites, email me at ieh3@cornell.ledu.
What I’m hearing is 4 separate bans on both electric and gas blowers:
1. No gas blowers all summer long.
2. None at all on weekdays after 6pm, year-round
3. None at all on weekends after 3pm, year-round
4. No commercial blowers on Sundays.
5. Only one blower at a time on small parcels
It’s not clear whether Greenwich is trying to solve for noise or pollution. Gas is banned 3 months and after Labor Day they want all the gas-powered blowing done in a concentrated period of time, weekdays before 6, except small parcels which must use one blower at a time all day long. Seems rife with contradiction. Do twice as many gas blowers running for half the time save the planet? Does one blower running 8 hours make downtown Greenwich more pleasant? New Canaan banned plastic bags, a clear choice to prioritize ecology over economy. This time around we might be limiting commercial operators into more machines and labor for fewer hours (especially if you exempt golf courses, parks and town property with “special treatment”) and making up for 3 months of summer neglect in the early Fall. Just as we did with plastic bags Town Council needs to better understand the full economic and ecological impact of any ban, and then needs better polling data from a well-informed public on whether we’re willing to take on another tax for an unclear benefit.
Gasoline powered leaf blowers are hugely polluting to our shared environment. The associated air pollution and noise pollution are quite indisputably bad for all of us. As a first step I feel a seasonal ban on use makes complete sense.
The evidence is IN. The air pollution created by gas powered leaf blowers is incredibly dangerous to human health, especially to infants, children, seniors, and people with underlying health conditions. In addition the chemicals from leaf blowers are linked to breast cancer. Ground level ozone created in hot summer months combined with the use of this equipment leads to asthma, lung and heart disease, to name just a few bad effects. The noise levels of gas powered leaf blowers damage our hearing and can undermine our mental health. For these reasons over 200 communities in our region have already enacted restrictions on leaf blowers. The technology of electric leaf blowers has advanced to the point where the investment in those machines will actually save money over three to five years which makes the economic argument against switching moot.
At the town council meeting the landscapers agreed that they did not need to use leaf blowers during the summer months. They could maintain a property without adding to air and noise pollution. Restrictions on properties two acres or less deserve a serious look. I urge the community and our elected leaders to take a constructive look at this issue and come up with an ordinance that benefits the majority of New Canaan residents.
To improve the quality of life
“The evidence is IN.” Please show your work.
Just throwing this out there, since there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue: I think a fair and practical solution would be for residents who prefer electric blowers to purchase them and ask their landscapers to use them on their property.
While some might feel this doesn’t go far enough, I believe it’s a meaningful step. Yes, it may not address the noise or emissions from a neighbor’s landscaper—but if enough residents take this approach, it could lead to a noticeable improvement across town.
This shifts the conversation from a mandate to a neighbor-to-neighbor understanding. It also avoids putting the financial burden on landscapers, who would otherwise have to invest in new equipment and manage the logistics of carrying and charging multiple batteries.
Yes! Finally a response that recommends personal responsibility and commitment to change instead of a government prescribed solution that is at the same time a practical nightmare to enforce and insignificant on a global scale.
For all of the talk of local control, parent choice, home owners first, etc folks really are quick to call for more government when it behooves their pet cause.
Utterly no noise restrictions here in Darien. Even on our Independence Day when they competed with the constant illegal bombs all day and well into the night. A total money grab as the heinous machines ‘sweep’ back and forth across the lawn. How heartless to endanger these men during a thunderstorm
While the focus seems to be on noise pollution caused by blowers, mowers are fairly annoying too and should be included in the discussion for restricted hours.