Letter to the editor: amend or defeat leaf blower measure

Here’s why we should all vote “no” on this proposed bylaw, along with a suggested amendment that would make it far less of an overreach.

1. The proposed bylaw bans use by individual homeowners of their own gas-powered leaf blowers for seven months of the year. This may make a lot of sense to people who don’t use or have a gas leaf blower, but it’s an overreach to impose those sensibilities on everyone else.
2. It offers no transition period nor any help for residents to replace gas leaf blowers with electric ones that would perform as well. It offers no recourse for individuals except to go out and buy new equipment plus extra batteries to do what their current equipment can easily do.
3. While it reduces overuse by contractors, it has very little beneficial impact to others by banning individuals doing any of their own light summer yard work or winter debris removal on most of Lincoln’s rural, wooded, two-acre-plus zoning. Does that make any sense?
4. It targets the noisy, polluting overuse of multiple simultaneous gas leaf blowers in summer months by lawn service contractors by banning all use, including that of individual homeowners. Why not limit that to the lawn service contractors?

Recommended amendments:

B2: For lawn service contractors, gas-powered leaf blowers may be used only from… (as proposed)

B3: Individual homeowners may use no more than one gas leaf blower from December 21 to March 19 and from June 1 to September 30, subject to the “time of day” limitations specified in section C.

By making the above changes, the Leaf Blower Study Committee would have a huge impact on the harmful and annoying overuse that is described in their literature and videos without denying individual homeowners the ability to act reasonably.

Sincerely,

Mark Deck
30 Silver Hill Rd.

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