The Board of Director of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce unanimously approved (with one abstention) the following statement regarding the proposed leafblower ban:
“The Newton-Needham Chamber shares concerns about the noise and air quality problems that can result from thoughtless use of leaf blowers — especially when misused in residential areas where homes are located close together.
However the proposed changes presently being considered by the Board of Aldermen to Newton’s Noise Ordinance are too extreme and too broad and will place a significant financial hardship on many Newton businesses, apartment and condominium complexes, non profits and (when it comes to footing the bill for cleanup of city property) on every Newton taxpayer.
While it is conceivable that the owner of a single family home could possibly rake, or hire someone to rake, debris from their property, it would be financially devastating for operators of many office complexes, colleges, golf courses and even the city itself, to rely solely on rakes (presuming labor can even be found to do this work) over the period of many months and especially not under a year-round ban. We are also concerned about the potential chance of injury and liability if wet leaves or other matter left on walkways, schools, and other areas cannot be cleared of debris quickly following a routine storm.
The Chamber strongly endorses stricter enforcement of the current noise regulations, including the present hour restrictions. The Chamber also endorses stricter enforcement of the mandated criteria for leaf blower noise ratings with a limit of 65 decibels.
But the Chamber urges our Aldermen to reject these changes and would certainly be a willing partner in distributing information to businesses about existing regulations and restrictions.”
I think hell just froze over because I find myself in agreement with Greg Reibman and the Chamber.
It seemed clear that the measures argued for here by the Chamber (enforcement, regulation of specific types of leaf blowers) were not enforceable, so it seems the Chamber is really pushing for the status quo.
Thank you to the Board of Directors of the Newton Needham Chamber of Commerce for taking this stand.
The Chamber is right on target with their statement.
I do think more could be done by increasing the communication between the city and the users of leaf blowers to get more voluntary cooperation on a lot of the sticking points. I suspect the leaf blower users have become more willing to do this than perhaps in the past. The proposed ordinance is in my view draconian but it may have softened up the leaf blower users to be more proactive in finding a lasting solution. Why isn’t the BOA doing this?
The “current noise regulations” are unenforceable. A total ban is overkill. But many residents [including myself] are looking for some reasonable measures restricting leaf blower use. I’ll be very disappointed if the BoA can’t find a compromise solution to this issue.
I agree with Mike here- I do believe the proposed ban was overreaching, but something somewhere in the middle that results in effective, sensible limits on use makes sense. Perhaps we will see another proposal.
+1 for some stricter time limits (i.e., later start times on weekends)
Reminder – don’t just kvetch here; contact your alderpeople and let them know what you think. I’ve emailed mine to say I’m not in favor of a total ban, but am in favor of seasonal limitations, am fine with time limitations as long as they don’t discriminate against those Jewish residents who are Sabbath-observant, etc. Whether you agree or disagree with me, let your representatives know what you think.
Agreed with mgwa, I am about to let mine know that I am in favor of a full ban as proposed. Always good to let your city councilor know.
Best,
NR
We all seem to be moving to healthy compromise and that is usually preferable and more doable. Still congratulations to the proponents for moving this issue forward.
The proposed solution to this problem is mismatched on structure and scale. As many have pointed out, we have noise regulations that we currently can’t enforce anyway. I’m reminded of the ancient problem of loud motorcycles and ‘open pipes’ for example. Having local cops run around with sound meters never made a dent. Putting top-level standards on manufacturers, combined with regular safety inspections and certifications, worked much better. The company selling the product will not be allowed to sell their machines in your state unless the product meets certain standards and is certified. Owners and operators of the machines are required to have periodic inspections and a compliance sticker is applied to each machine. Local constabulary driving by or responding to a complaint simply looks for a sticker – just like they check for the inspection sticker on your car. Don’t have a sticker, you get fined, etc etc.
The Board of Aldermen in Newton is engaging in a colossal waste of time and will never solve this problem using the current approach. More than likely, some emerging technology will make the problem moot anyway.
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/liquidpiston-small-efficient-rotary-engine-1205
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-liquid-piston-bloomfield-new-engine-20141119-story.html
http://liquidpiston.com/
The advantages and benefits of a new generation product would quickly drive the old, noisy dinosaurs out.
Sorry – forgot the most interesting link:
http://www.wired.com/2014/11/tiny-engine-make-leaf-blowers-sound-less-like-jet-engines/
On our walk to Williams Elementary this morning at 8:15am, Belmont Landscaping had two blowers and a pesticide sprayer in the sidewalk and adjacent yard on Woodland & Hancock streets, in the path of many children walking to school.
I agree with everyone wanting a compromise. I’m surprised the current proposed change to the noise ordinance got this far without having the ban on Sundays nixed. That can’t possibly happen so if the BOA vote has to be all or nothing then it has to be a no. If however that part can be taken out it might have a chance for other compromises instead of starting all over.
The police chief has already said the present law is unenforceable so the chamber’s position is bizarre.
But adding the manufacturer’s decibel limit sticker requirement would make it easier.
I do agree though that some things shouldn’t apply to institutions.
I think the seasonal ban already suggested by someone allowing fall and spring clean ups, with the spring start time being determined by the timing of winter snowfall along with the adjusted time limits during those seasons is a good compromise.
No outright ban. No weekend day ban.
I really like H L Dewy’s solution eventually.
And be sure to follow mgwa’s recommendation.
I attended the meeting last night. I did not speak, but listened. There were way more people who do not want leaf blowers from what I could tell. I left at 10:00 and it was still going. The people who wanted leaf blowers were mostly landscapers. It was pretty interesting.
I watched the meeting last night on television. I was on the fence before I watched, but now I’m firmly in favor of a ban. Doctors spoke on the health risks, scientists on the environmental impacts, the disabled on their struggles with the noise, professionals on their inability to work, and other citizens on the constant impact on their quality of life. In contrast, the landscapers complained that their profits might be affected. That was it. Oh, and the wife of one landscaper made an impassioned plea that her husband not be made to use a rake because she didn’t want to see callouses on his hand.
The incredible selfishness of the landscapers while listening to the community detail all the negative effects of their actions was a real eye opener. I’m sure they were not aware they were on television as they rolled their eyes, laughed, and talked to each other while others were sharing their experiences and knowledge. My health, my family’s health, and the health of my community should not be put in danger so that a few landscapers can maximize their profits.
Like Kristine, I was on the fence too. I went to the meeting with the position of compromise – limitations of hours of operation, registration and enforcement of equipment, but no ban. After listening to both sides for about 2 hours I rewrote my speech in support of the ban. I changed my position based on an awareness that involuntary health and environmental impacts that many of our fellow residents endure are for the financial benefit of landscapers and their customers without paying the full cost to operate. A classic situation of an economic, human health and environmental externality.
We heard from one landscaper that the average cost to each home owner would be ~$1500 over a season if they stopped using leaf blowers (based on 3 additional hires, insurance, taxes, & equipment). Both my wife and I work at home and weekly endure 3-4 hours of disruptive leaf blower noise, at times in excess of 85 dBA at my window, 70 dBA with the window shut. During fall cleanup, leaf blowers are used 3 times a week for 2-3 hours at a stretch for 3-4 weeks. The many stories told at the meeting were validation that the intensity and duration of noise that we personally experience is not an anomaly. In the US, at least 1 in 10 people work at home one day a week. More than 5% of us have home offices. In my neighborhood, leaf blower operation has a net negative economic impact.
As Kristine points out, there wasn’t much indication of an understanding of the severity of the impacts. One opinion by an opponent to the ban was that it’s only a 5 minute nuisance, which is far from the reality that I experience and others that spoke before her. Another mentioned that current 65 dBA leaf blowers are underpowered and don’t really work, essentially an admission that they’re openly disobeying the current ordinance.
I would have been willing to support a compromise if there was a hint of humility and understanding of the potential harm to others, and for that matter to themselves. The hubris in the room brought me back to my senses.
@marti @kristine @tom gloria
I completely sympathize with folks who object to the noise and nuisance of leaf blowers disturbing the pristine and peaceful idyllic paradise of Newton in the Morning. I really do, actually; I am a ‘windows open’ fanatic and it really upsets me to hear them starting up. Blaming the landscapers is probably not productive – someone is hiring them, and paying them. Hmmm, could it be Newton homeowners? If a landscaping truck shows up two doors down from you and they unload and fire up their mowers and leafblowers, does it make more sense to berate the guy in the truck, or talk to your neighbor, who is paying for it and has obviously agreed to having the work done at this time? Which approach do you think would be more effective in the end?
I hardly think very many of the landscape contractors are Billionaire Robber Barons salting away mountains of cash in Swiss banks based on their exploitation of the use of leaf blowers in Newton. My guess would be that most are small businesses employing a handful of people, and lord knows that’s a very competitive market. You might also find that many of them are local folks, just trying to make a living and feed their families.
Just as with criticism of ‘rapacious and predatory developers’ one needs to keep some sense of persective here. If no one agreed to sell their property to that nasty develper who is going to tear down the existing house and build the McMansion, how could that predatory developer do business? One cannot ignore the other side of the transaction in either case. It takes two to tango, as the saying goes. And truth be told, there’s also another whole story up over the other side of the hill in Waban, or Chestnut Hill, or other more rarified geographies where folks might not be willing to spend their Saturday out front pushing a hand mower and raking up clippings every week. Ooops, I retract that, it was a totally biased and unfair statement.
Hello everyone. Hopefully everyone’s ears have recovered from all the decibel noise directed at the Landscapers in the chamber halls about the leaf blowers. I certainly hope that the lady who claims she suffers from noise pain (while screaming herself) and has to hide in a corner from morning until afternoon went and got some help….her display on Wednesday night was nothing short of 2 year old temper tantrum. She made mockery of herself and NS&S while screaming and banging her fists on the podium to get a point across. She said that people can become “suicidal” due to the leaf blower noise??!! How insulting to make a comment like that towards the people who actually do suffer from a diagnosed mental illness and that may have committed suicide from other deep rooted problems (not from leaf blowers). With Newton actually having suffered the loss of more than 1 young person to suicide in the past few years, ask their families if it was due to a leaf blower. Do you even listen to YOUR SELFISH comments before you blurt them out?? NS&S has an agenda, and when you have an agenda such as this, all the stops are pulled to get what they so desperately want.
I certainly hope that the Board of Alderman (except the few that are part of NS&S) listened to all the points made that night and will reconsider the total ban or perhaps even retire this topic and start addressing more serious issues that this City will face if we let groups like NS&S run our City.
Ann
H L Dewey I think you have the right of it. I attended the meeting on Wednesday night ready to say the compromise of allowing leaf blowers spring and fall and banning them in the rest of the time would be fine. After listening to all the testimony of experts on what is actually in the air besides the dirt and leaves you see, i think an out right ban is likely needed. But first someone is going to need to explain to some residents that using blowers in a public nuisance. It is ok if their yard is not pristine or if they want pristine they will need to pay for it. It is not fair to blame this on the landscapers.
As for anyone who isn’t in favor of banning leaf blowers, should have been in my yard last night. I had spent the afternoon cleaning my yard in preparation for a cocktail party. at 5 along came a group of landscapers cleaning one of my neighbors yard; 3 guys with backpack blowers. While they were still over 100 feet away the debris from my neighbors was raining down on my newly cleaned patio and table. Luckily I hadn’t set out any of the food yet. It took me almost two minutes of screaming and waving to get their attention. Even after they shut off the blowers it took a few minutes until the guy got back his hearing (no ear protection). When i asked if he would stop blowing the yard towards mine as it was dropping dirt and such in my yard, he just couldn’t understand why that was a problem. He finally decided he would blow sideways. I was forced to wipe down the table and chairs again.
I don’t want to have to go to this neighbor and complain. I urge the BOA to take action.
Ann – The woman who spoke about how the noise bothers her has a disability, on the autism spectrum. She mentioned this in her opening remarks. I also don’t think she is part of NS&S, she is simply someone frustrated by the constant noise of leaf blowers which is unlike other noises. So I hope people who heard her can try to understand her frustration and be more kind.
I have a daughter with a profound hearing loss in her right ear so I know not all noise is the same and not everyone hears the noise the same way. She can not hear someone speaking in her right ear but she can hear leaf blowers and fire engine horns. Because of her type of hearing loss these noises are extra loud to her and she is very uncomfortable. I am glad she can hear a fire engine, but i don’t know why she needs to listen to leaf blowers.
I too was on the fence,but after hearing the facts concerning health issues I am now for a total ban. The boorish behavior of the landscapers did themselves no favors. Their only issue,speaker after speaker , was money money money. Sitting right behind the podium their smirking and eye rolling was on camera the whole time.
@Alicia & @Ann: Can you clue the rest of us in on what NS&S is?
NS&S Newton Safe & Sound a group of concerned citizens who have been leading the effort on getting a ban.
Ann, your comments about the young women who spoke of the agony and pain she suffers from when she is bombarded by the noise of leaf blowers have almost single handedly changed my belief in a workable compromise to understanding why there is s need for a ban.
The commenters talking about lack of concern from the landscapers is not what I saw. I saw many people who are looking for a compromise and spoke about their reasons. Yes, they spoke about money and some things seemed exaggerated, although I don’t know if they were, but they were talking about their livelihood and their employees supporting families just like yours.
But the young man and the woman with sensory issues struck a cord. She explained her condition and became passionate because of the torture that noise causes her. To say she threw a temper tantrum and made a mockery of herself is not only not true but is bullying. Try listening and showing a little compassion.
Today I had to shut my windows 4 times when 4 separate lawn care companies started up their leaf blowers. The last one at 7 pm. It is summertime – there are no leaves on the ground. I don’t know what they are blowing at.
Yesterday, I timed the (different) lawn care company at 30 min. The leaf blowers started the minute they got off the truck and they mainly seemed to be blowing in the side walk and on the street. Closely observed because they were right in front of my window.
A seasonal ban seems very reasonable to me.
As a comparison, street work is also going on in my neighborhood (laying pipes). It is quieter.
I always see the leaf blower workers blowing dirt from a customer’s driveway onto neighboring driveways and onto the street. They blow the dirt from their customer’s sidewalk onto other parts of the sidewalk or the street. All they are doing is moving dirt around, very noisily.
Please consider at least a seasonal ban. I like my windows open. Impossible with all of the leafblowers who now have to clean dirt because there are no leaves. But they don’t clean, really, they just blow it from one place to another. They blow the dirt from their particular customer’s driveway and sidewalks to the adjacent driveways and sidewalks, and also the street. They walk down the sidewalk, blowing the dirt onto the sidewalk that is not in front of the house they are doing.
For those of you who care about neighbor relations and about the health of the workers who blow and about the health of our entire community, please , sign this petition in favor of regulations on leaf blowers.
Here is the link:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/leaf-blower-regulations-1?source=c.fwd&r_by=1623119
The Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce should be ashamed of themselves. Below is a list of Newton businesses whose bottom line is being impacted by the indiscriminate, careless overuse of leaf blowers. If you care about Newton businesses, read below.
Following is a compilation of statements from business owners in Newton who have been negatively impacted by leaf blowers: In alphabetical order.
Abbe Enterprises.
Much of our work involves on-line research and report-writing
which we conduct out of our home offices in Newton. We are definitely impacted negatively
by the incessant use of leaf blowers in Newton, our fair “(Noise and Dust)
Pollution City”. The “Rise of the Leaf Blower Machines” has virtually taken
over much of the City during the Spring, Summer and Fall months. Not only
is the noise dehumanizing, it is hazardous both to health and productivity.
We are unable to work in our home office when Leaf Blowers take over the
neighborhood. On any given property, there are often several running at one
time. The noise pressure inside our house (built in 1996 to modern
standards with double-pane windows) often exceeds 80dB, well above
legal limits and it is much louder outside. The persistent, loud
acoustic intrusion goes beyond simply preventing work while Leaf Blowers are
in use in contiguous properties. As is true for many, I suffer from
tinnitus. Even after retreating from my office, the noise of the Leaf
Blowers leaves my ears ringing for hours afterwards, and migraine headaches
persist even after the racket stops. One reason for buying in Newton was
the myth of the “Garden City” – what meaning does this have if one cannot
enjoy one’s garden? My wife suffers from asthma and must retreat indoors
when leaf blowers have invaded the area, as the airborne detritus brings on
asthma attacks which have long-lasting and persistent negative effects. We
are tax-paying citizens of Newton in good standing and it is fair to say
that the negative impact on our work by the perpetrators (landscapers) costs
us more than our tax bill while it costs them nothing. It is
incomprehensible to us how the highly questionable economic benefits to
landscapers (many of whom are headquartered outside the City) and who
perpetrate the noise and particulate pollution can be construed to outweigh
the economic interests, health and well-being of tax-paying Newton citizens.
What is very clear is that honest, tax-paying Newton citizens are the
victims and are being forced to pay (both economically and in terms of
negative health impact) for the pollution created by the perpetrators (the
landscapers who use leaf blowers). What is entirely clear is: so far the
City tolerates this costly abuse of its citizens; does nothing to enforce
existing regulations (which are inadequate). Meanwhile it is entirely
unclear that there is in fact any net economic benefit to the landscapers
who use these noisy, polluting devices since other landscapers seem to do
just fine without them and are cost-competitive.
Unless it is the purpose of the City to irrationally penalize honest
citizens with needless noise and pollution which harm Newton citizen’s
economic interest and health, leaf blowers should be banned entirely.
Anything short of a total ban on leaf blowers not only imposes an
unreasonable health and economic burden on actual residents but is an insult
to the concept that government in a democracy should be “for the people and
by the people”. If the City cannot bring itself to support the health and
economic well-being of its citizens, it should suspend and forego all taxes
for those who are negatively impacted by the “Rise of the (leaf-blower)
Machines.
Alkalay Law Office
Newton Centre
I have lived at 166 Chestnut Street for 22 years. It’s only in recent years that the leaf blowers have increased to such a ridiculous level. Just yesterday, in the pouring rain, I saw a landscaper with a leaf blower blowing the sidewalk. It was downright bizarre and underscored the fact that these landscapers will come up with any excuse to use those harmful machines for a fee.
I have missed countless work hours because I cannot take calls when the leaf blowers are going. I live and work amid six houses and they blast at incredible volume for hours every day on all sides of my office. I cannot concentrate well during the incessant din of leaf blower hours even with my windows shut on a hot day and the white noise machine turned all the way up.
If the windows are open, I end up with dust from particulate matter all over my desk, papers, and electronic equipment for work, because I am downstream from a yard which uses leaf blowers about twenty feet from my office.
I cannot take my work elsewhere because I write briefs involving the need for a large screen computer, which is in any case the only computer I can afford, and plenty of desk space, and because I am supposed to take calls which I certainly can’t do in a library or other public setting.
Without question the leaf blowers have cost me a good $15,000 a year in productivity and opportunity cost which I can ill afford as a solo practitioner working as a contractor, paid by the hour, for the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Any private business I pick up is by way of phone calls coming in. Thus lost work hours are lost wages, and lost phone calls are both lost wages and lost opportunities.
The leaf blowers have also utterly robbed me of the enjoyment of my yard. I have begun looking forward to deep winter as the only time there is predictable silence here.
I am looking forward to moving out of here on July 1. I am moving to a condo in a less wealthy neighborhood in Newton Centre where the leaf blowing is said to be less constant.
I attended the aldermen’s Public Hearing (6/10/15) and the most galling statement I recall is from a woman who said the leaf blowers are just used to ‘finish up’ for a few minutes after the main work is done. That is outrageous. They truly go for hours at a time, on, off, on, off, three or four hours in a yard in West Newton Hill. If anyone doubts this they are welcome to spend a day in my office with me before I move – any day will provide an opportunity to experience what I’ve been living with for far too long.
The second most outrageous thing I heard at the Public Hearing was that ‘the men will become exhausted’ if they have to use rakes. One of the landscape company owners said this. We have many trees and 1/4 acre. I am 51. One of my sons or I will mow the lawn in 30 minutes once a week and it’s bigger than most Newton lawns. We leave the clippings. We rake the yard when
it needs to be raked, usually for several weekends in a row in the fall and spring, and we bag the leaves and bring them down our 90-foot driveway to the curb in a wheelbarrow for pickup. We do not get so exhausted and we also go to school and/or work besides doing our own yard work. If I raked and mowed for 8 hours a day, I would not be exhausted because that would be my job and I would be accustomed to it. I have no idea what these landscapers are thinking. Isn’t landscaping SUPPOSED to be manual labor in the first place?? If it is so hard, how did anyone ever achieve the feat of landscaping prior to the leaf blower era?
James A. Bergquist
Old Master and Modern Prints and Drawings
Newton Centre
I am self-employed—like a legion of my acquaintances in Newton— and I work from my residence. Daily in the clean-up seasons, and very often in the midsummer as well, I am tried by the racket of leaf-blowers. Closing the windows and doors does little to reduce the brain-rattling sound. In addition, I frequently ride my bicycle through Newton—for morning coffee, to run errands, shop, hit the bank,—and every few days I have to run the gauntlet of clouds of lawn and street debris thrown up by these machines. If there were an OSHA for consumers and citizens, I think we would have banned these machines years ago. I hope that my city Councilors will institute a complete and permanent ban on leaf blowers, as many more forward-thinking communities already have done.
Thank you for your attention to this.
OK2Stretch Physical Therapy
Karen Bray
Newton Centre
Part of my work involves gait training and I often walk elderly patients out of doors for the fresh air and because outdoor challenges create an ideal training ground for neurological reeducation. Many times, my client and I have been assaulted by the blast of dust and noise from leaf blowers, making our work impossible to continue. My business is home-based, thus, phone calls, evaluations, consultations, concentration, and bookkeeping are made difficult when leaf blowers are going, often all day. My stress levels are raised when I have no control over when leaf blowers will interrupt my work, and, as a healthcare professional, I am familiar with studies that show that continued, daily triggering of the fight or flight mechanism contributes to serious medical conditions such a stroke, heart attacks among others. I feel that the city allowing leaf blowers carte blanche violates our right to work in a healthful environment in Newton.
Karen Bray, PT
Lynda Goldberg, Artist
Vineyard Road
Newton Centre
I am an artist, home owner and resident of Newton. My studio/business is in my home. The noise, smell, dust, created by the lawn services (leaf blowers ) is sometimes unbearable and goes on for what seems like hours.
I live on a short residential street. The lawn services come about twice per week on my street, and the neighboring street you can see from our backyard. They park at one end and work their way down from house to house on their client lists. When they are around, I can’t work outside, I have to retreat indoors to avoid the noise, dust particles and smell. I often close either the front or rear windows in the house depending which street they are working on.
My home is my studio. My office, is our dining room on the first floor with a second studio on the second floor. In decent weather, all year round, I try to work (by phone, on computer, do my artwork,…)/sit/read/relax outside. The lawn services start in April and continue through Nov every year.
If more people worked/stayed at home they would see/be affected by the stress and stress producing situations that these lawn services bring to our communities.
Joellen Hawkens: Consultant, Editor, Nurse and Author.
Newton Lower Falls
I work at home as an editor for faculty members from several schools of nursing. I have no office at any of those institutions so all my work is done in my home office. Our house is on Route 16 across the street from Woodland Country Club and Golda Meir House and at the top of our street—an upside down U-shaped street with both ends on Route 16—is Braeburn Golf Course. I walk the U every day for exercise for my osteoarthritis and the pollen stirred up by the leaf blowers is suffocating and the noise hideous. That noise penetrates our house and offices as does the pollen and dust.
AML Software Inc.
Al Leisinger
1002 Beacon Street
Newton Centre
“This business is operated out of my home on a part-time basis, and consists of consulting and training. When leaf-blowers are active, I need to stop work, because the noise directly affects my ability to concentrate, and prevents me from making phone calls.
I need to concentrate and I often need to speak with clients on the
phone, which is hard when my neighbors’ leaf blowers are there.
Two people in our group said that they had rented offices out of their homes to escape the leaf blowers which demonstrates the added cost for some home-based businesses of noise. I’ve often thought of this, but it would be prohibitive for me, and you can’t necessarily escape the noise just by going to a different place to work.
It’s ironic, isn’t it, that Parks and Rec are for leisure, relaxation, and recreation and enjoying the outdoors and yet the noise we have heard from blowers in the parks actually subverts the mission. “
Decaf Software Corp.
Alan Pincus
148 Sumner St.
Newton
“I often work from home for my company, Decaf Software Corp. When leaf blowers are in the neighborhood, my productivity suffers. Although a landscaper may run his leaf blower for only 20 minutes at a time, I can track their progress through the neighborhood as they move from one property to the next. It’s not uncommon that I have to contend with leaf blowers for most of a day.
Not only does my ordinary productivity suffer, but leaf blowers can make business calls impossible. Since I have no way to predict when a leaf blower will start, I cannot plan my calls around them.
In my opinion, the use of leaf blowers represents a significant cost that is imposed upon the community at large. I believe regulation should limit this activity and insure that any costs are born by those calling for services.”
MargaretZaleskiArt
Walter Street
Newton Centre
“Noise and emissions all hours of the day from leaf blowers at my home office/studio. Can’t think, be creative, consult with others. Had to rent space in Waltham (and pay monthly rent) so I could work in peace. This is an expense I incur only because of leaf blowers.”
Newton Safe and Sound is a group of 120 Newton residents who are supporters of a ban on leaf blowers or at least, a reasonable, seasonal compromise.
Please, join us at
http://www.meetup.com/newtonsafeandsound/
We look forward to connecting with you, in peace and quiet.
The statement by the Chamber that a leaf blower ban would be it would be “financially devastating for operators of many office complexes, colleges, golf courses and even the city itself, to rely solely on rakes ” is a misstatement on two levels. First of all, this is only speculation. Let’s do a pilot and found out what the truth is. Second: There are alternatives to leaf blowers that do not pollute or make horrendous noise. There are more than rakes.
But, most importantly, I find it appalling that the Chamber would come out in favor of SOME Newton businesses , i.e. the landscapers. The Chamber voted to leave other small Newton businesses in the dust. This is not good neighborly behavior, this is not good business behavior, and, it is not appropriate for a Chamber of Commerce to stand on the side of SOME businesses and not others. I have statements from many small businesses in Newton speaking loudly and clearly; With leaf blowers invading their offices much of their days, it is difficult, if not impossible to think, to concentrate, to speak on the phone, or in person with clients. Business is lost because of leaf blowers. You may find that difficult to believe; ask me, I can direct you to people.
An appropriate response from the Chamber of Commerce would be to say, “Hey, some of our Newton businesses are being negatively impacted by the behavior of other businesses. Let’s see what we can do to solve this problem. Let’s make it work for everyone. “