Letter to the editor: leaf blow bylaw is the wrong approach

To the editor:

Like many in town, I really hate the fall and spring “cleanup” seasons when squads of lawn care workers descend upon the lawns of Lincoln with their high-powered leaf blowers to afflict us with an awful racket and clouds of debris and dust. It seems like it takes forever for them to do just to do one property, and you hear (and see) this mayhem for weeks all over town.

Also, the environmentalist within me cringes at the ways in which what are seen as “standard” lawn care practices harm the environment — such as the overuse of leaf blowers and the bagging of grass clippings — both of which strip important nutrients from the soil. This in turn increases erosion and encourages the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides — all of which washes into our ponds and streams.

Every defense I’ve seen for this proposed bylaw — as much as I agree with them — focuses on how bad leaf blowers are, and how good it would be to protect the environment by eliminating their use. In other words, it is a moral argument. And (as history teaches us) attempts to legislate a specific standard of morality through a ban, without a solid communal consensus in support of it, tend to fail — badly. So, to me it is obvious that a ban such as this cannot work, and will cause a lot of needless strife and controversy.

As additional evidence for the difficulty of making such a ban work, it appears that the proposed bylaw has been rewritten and tweaked many times to address the concerns of specific groups. The introduction of such complexities and exceptions before the bylaw has even been brought up for a town vote is a clear indicator that the basic approach is flawed. This ban is not a robust solution. It is not a fair solution. It is not a workable solution.

Let me be clear: I heartily support the goal, but I am convinced that this proposed Bylaw cannot work, and will create significant negative consequences and complications — many of them unanticipated and unintentional. An entirely different approach is necessary.

Sincerely,

Allen Vander Meulen
30 Beaver Pond Rd., Lincoln

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