After months of hearings and public debate about whether to restrict the use of leaf-blowers in Lincoln, a motion to approve new regulations was passed over at Town Meeting at the request of the Leaf Blower Study Committee, which decided in light of feedback that “this was not the time to propose regulations,” LBSC chair Jamie Banks told the audience.
The committee decided by a 5-1 vote some time after its first public forum on January 6 and after speaking with other town committees that “a regulation this year would be premature” Banks said in an email this week. “In general, many felt it made sense to determine the effectiveness of education before moving to regulation.”
On its website, the committee compiled a substantial amount of research showing that gas-powered leaf blowers are detrimental to public health because of the noise, exhaust fumes and airborne particles they generate, as well as links to restrictions already enacted by other towns. The Lincoln Board of Health agreed with this assessment but later clarified its position to say it didn’t feel that regulations governing leaf blower use by residential property owners were necessary, because much of the problematic usage was on paved surfaces in commercial and public areas.
At the March 28 Town Meeting, Banks outlined some of the LBSC’s successes in voluntarily controlling leaf blower use. The group partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department to reduce the frequency of leaf blowing on town properties and worked closely with Greenridge condominiums and the Rural Land Foundation, which owns The Mall at Lincoln Station, to eliminate leaf blower use on those properties during the summer. The LBSC will continue to work with other landowners in the business district as well as the town’s Cemetery Commission and Department of Public Works to employ quieter, healthier landscape maintenance practices and use of non-polluting electric equipment, Banks said.
Banks left open the question of whether the group will return in the future with another proposal for regulations. “This will depend on the effectiveness of our educational approach and attempts to engage property owners in more environmentally responsible landscape practices,” she said.
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