Leafblowers
by Jerry Reilly | Apr 11, 2017 | Newton | 36 comments
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Jerry, I’m gonna hafta to turn you in. For your illustration, you’re using a Craftsman 74961, which has a label showing that it’s a 72db leafblower. You can’t use that blower in Newton — even on Village 14 as an illustration.
busted!
Clearly Bruce has passed the vigilante certification course.
@Bruce Henderson – better?
Greg you finally realized that certain groups and politicians have finagled the vigilante blower police to harass the landscapers cause they have nothing better to do with their sad lives
Actually Joe, my comment should not be interpreted as anything but a wisecrack.
Just curious … does any one know, when police have been called, how often have landscapers been in violation? Mostly? rarely?
@Jerry, I bet Karen Bray and her “Superhero” friends could tell you. You should ask her or attend another one of her “envelope stuffing” parties on how to “report violations of leaf blowers” to learn more. I heard they even serve cider and cookies at these parties! How enticing!
Since we’re on the subject, I wonder if she’d consider volunteering her time in community service by hand-raking the cities’ parks and open spaces since she’s such a proponent of raking. I bet her and all her superhero friends would LOVE that idea! I hear it’s great for the abs! Just a thought :)
I did not support this leaf blower ordinance (I favored the registration and self policing proposal created by a coalition of landscapers, non-profits and businesses). But I find the vitriol from some anonymous commenters here against Karen Bray and others to be troubling. It seems to be predicated on fears of “vigilantes” not actual vigilante experiences. How about if we all take a deep breath and see how this new ordinance plays out in real time before everyone gets all worked-up about what might happen?
@Jerry: No problem! That’s a Task Force 12-Amp 375-CFM, which is, of course, electric. ;-)
The post said leafblowers, discuss. Now it’s not allowed? Typical Newton liberal double-standard. Sorry for the hurt feelings.
Anyway, @greg thank you for acknowledging the vitriol! Its been fervent from both sides for the past 2+ years no doubt! You are absolutely correct, lets see what happens :)
Has anyone reached out the Police Department to see if they really are getting complaints?
Rather than speculate, just ask!
Greg – It is NOT VITRIOL when it is from their own websites and their own words. We know you don’t like us to bring up the fact that their “SUPER HERO Alison Leary” is the one that created this mess – ( Super Hero is what Newton Safe and Sounds Calls Councilor Leary ) But these are the facts from their website.
And what Newton Safe and Sound is doing ( see below) if it is NOT Vigilantism – It clearly is HARASSMENT.
One landscaper had the Police stop him THREE times in one day – He had the CORRECT BLOWERS. Waste of Police Time and harassment of the landscapers.
Now I wonder if the landscapers keep getting harassed can they file a complaint and bring the people making these false claims to court??
And the BIGGEST Violator is the City Vendor which now is raking as he doesn’t have the ‘Legal’ Blowers and the city needs to be PRISTINE for TV on Monday. I wonder how much MORE money that is going to cost the CITY??? More time, higher labor costs. OH that’s right – DeRubeis told the Finance Committee that the City Vendor told him it wouldn’t cost any more money. Lets Hope it doesn’t. Or maybe OUR SUPER HERO will pay that increased Bill ! And this is Just the Spring. Wait till the Fall when all the leaves fall and then when they cant keep up and it rains they will clog the city Drains.
And Greg – Because we like to keep the facts straight – I am reposting this from the Kelley Posting. So everyone can see what Newton Safe and Sound has posted on their website. Their words – Not mine. And I know you like the facts so here they are AGAIN!
Yes Elmo – This is a Vigilante Group harassing Landscapers and Burdening Newton Police who are responding to Leaf Blower Calls rather than more important Police Business. Unfortunately Karen Bray and her group Newton Safe and Sound have posted and published essentially what they are doing which is clearly the definition of a Vigilante Group. Maybe the definition will help her realize what she and her group are doing.
Vigilantism- law enforcement undertaken without legal authority by a self-appointed group of people.
You be the Judge – Read below – If someone posts on their website that they are going to have Precinct Captains in the city and teach others to report violations about Leaf Blowers at a party at her house this weekend over 2 days – essentially a “party” to promote “vigilantism”.
And for the record – Both Councilor Leary and Hess-Mahan are members of Newton Safe and Sound since 2014. Also clearly stated on Newton Safe and Sounds Website.
From Karen Brays Letter to the Newton Tab dated 4/5/2017 and I quote because it is NOT yet up on the internet. ” Police cannot enforce our laws unless a violation is brought to their attention, and there’s a legitimate place, and a respect for laws when those who observe violations report them.”
Sounds like Vigilantism to me and she was nice enough to put it in a letter to the editor for everyone to read .
FROM HER WEBSITE NEWTON SAFE AND SOUND
Training to Report Violations/Envelope Stuffing/ Party!
2 days ago · 3:00 PM
Home of Karen Lane Bray
TRAINING ON HOW TO REPORT LEAF BLOWER VIOLATIONS,
and STUFF ENVELOPES:
A PARTY!!
Home of Karen Bray
38 Stearns Street NC
Saturday and Sunday, April 8th and 9th, 2017
3:00pm-6:00pm
[masked]
Come learn about reporting (phone or app). Volunteer to be a “Precinct Captain”!
We have approximately 800 signers of our petition, but, in many cases, have only their snail mail addresses. We need to inform all our supporters of the new ordinance, instruct them as how to report violations effectively, and get their email addresses! Come stuff envelopes!
PLEASE COME TO THE PARTY(S)! Stay for an hour or the entire time!
Please, call with questions or ideas. Please, rsvp for the party!
Many thanks!
Karen (617)[masked]
@Joanne: You and I both did not support these leaf blower regulations. But they were approved and now, like em or not, they have to be followed. But I apparently have more faith in our police than you do. I expect that if they keep getting complaints that a certain landscaper isn’t abiding by the ordinance but is, they will soon leave them alone.
@Anne and Joanne: I’m pretty certain that there is nothing illegal or even unethical about Karen Bray and company serving cider and cookies or mailing letters that aim to educate people about the leaf blower ordinance. Again, I didn’t support this ordinance. But its the law now. If leaf blower users follow the regulations, then there’s nothing “Karen Bray and her ‘Superhero’ friends” can do other than gain a few pounds from all those cookie parties.
@ The Whole Truth – The police are getting MANY CALLS about Leaf Blowers. Great use of Police Resources!
@Joanne…I agree. Complete waste of police resources. Nobody wins here.
Speaking of “had the correct blowers”… the devil’s in the details. I’ve heard of a case where the landscaper *has* the correct blowers — purely decorative.
The idea is that resident complaint-to-dispatch takes enough time that the loud blowers are already back and stowed by the time the police arrives. At which point the lawn crew points to the decorative low-noise blowers and says “we used those!” Nice, huh?
@Greg – What is a Precinct Captain’s Job- To Serve the Cookies??
And Let keep the facts Straight – Their only ” Super Hero” is Councilor Leary.
Regarding the police, I spoke to an officer today while i was walking my dog in the afternoon. He said they are getting a lot of calls but the majority of the time it is either a lawnmower, legal blowers or no one was at that address. I guess there has been only a few warnings for people not knowing the rule.
On a sad note, there are people supposedly driving around with their cell phones taking pictures or videos. I guess some landscapers are seeing the same cars and plate #’s.
Pretty sad it has come to this, I heard that the city contractor was raking city hall by hand and many DPW trucks have the illegal blowers. My neighbor a few houses down the street is 74 years old and her cleanup was always around $400. She said it was a little over a $1000 this year. Her landscaper had a note apologizing on the invoice.
I think a fair compromised should of been a limit of blowers per property and a allotted amount of time per property (depending on size).
Quick Question, as many of you probably saw in the TAB the city is planning to repair many streets in Newton. I have had my street paved about 8 years ago and the machine which rips the existing asphalt up is very loud and very dusty. I am sure it is not very good on emissions. Are those still legal in Newton?
During the period that it was common to use 77 dB blowers because the city never enforced the noise ordinance, we found out a sad fact: a law isn’t a law until it is enforced. And so we know that unless we keep after the city to enforce the new law, they it will be as if there is no law. You can call it harassment, but if we don’t hold the city’s feet to the fire, we won’t get the result that the city council voted for by a large margin: less leaf blower noise. When we consider that landscapers simply flouted the law for many years (they even brought their 77 dB blowers to demonstrate for the alderman, that’s how certain they were that they could get away with it), we have to conclude that eyes in the street and a constant flow of reports of violations is the best way to make this work.
It’s easy enough to avoid people paying too much attention to you (i.e. harassment): don’t use illegal leaf blowers.
If all the landscapers can raise their prices 250%, they should take some of the profits and erect a statue of Karen Bray since they have her to thank for it. But it won’t happen. There will be some price gouging, as described above, but it won’t take long until the free market brings prices back down to earth. That’s what happened in the other places that limited leaf blower noise. Very soon you will start to see lists of reasonably priced landscapers who use low noise blowers. To those of you who are using this opportunity to enhance your profits at the expense of the elderly or people who are easily intimidated, well, what can I say?
I do have something to say to the landscapers who are making a good faith effort to work with the low noise leaf blowers: Thank you, thank you, thank you! It makes a real difference. You won’t get any harassment from me, just a cheery wave as I go by. I hope everyone in Newton who sees somebody with a low noise blower will smile and say hello. These are friends. And if you see a violation, then be a good citizen and report it..
There are a great many ordnances on the books. One can only wonder if Ms. Bray and her little group are following each and every one to the letter of the law. Perhaps it is time for some reciprocal “oversight.” Regardless, I look forward this summer to running my still-legal (who know for how long) gas powered lawn mower long and loudly. It makes a fine lawn vacuum.
BTW Joanne, I did not mean to ever imply that I was not in total agreement with your sentiments, whatever we call these folks. They and their aldermanic enablers pretty much define everything that is wrong with Newton. While others bemoan the passing from the scene of Aldmn Hess-Mahan, I can only hope (though I am not hopeful) that his absence will reduce the rampant disrespect and inconvenience shown to tax paying property owners these past dozen years or so.
I don’t know about vigilantes, but I, for one, will welcome the summer months when I’m not woken up on a Saturday morning by the sound of a gang of leafblowers — sounding like the Concorde taking off from Heathrow airport with the afterburners on — unnecessarily chasing a few grass clippings across a neighbor’s yard.
@Joanne: A long screed punctuated with the liberal use of ALL CAPS does not enhance your argument. Rather, it paints you as the extremist counterpoint to Newton S&S.
Disclaimer: I own an electrically-powered leafblower, which I have been known to use in odd-numbered years, when I can shake off my autumnal torpor.
@Robert Welbourn – Wasn’t “Autumnal Torpor” an emo band from the 80’s?
I was going to guess that Autumnal Torpor was some sort of non indigenous aphid which emerges every other year and can be removed from plants with a blast of leaf blower air.
@Greg: I hear that United Airlines are going to use the 75 dB leafblowers to ‘re-accommodate’ passengers, especially the non-indigenous ones.
@Jerry: ‘Autumnal Torpor’ is normally encountered in Newton teenagers — and their parents — on account of the stupidly early high school start times.
Elmo – we are on the same page. Thank you
As for Karen Brays Statue – maybe we can erect one made out of Leaves next to the Johnny Kelly Statue. That would be a perfect place right on Commonwealth Avenue.
Oh and Alex B AKA – Oh Wise one – Keep driving around and reporting those landscapers using the legal blowers – The Police are having a great time following the letter of the law that you and your super hero councilor have created. We know it is not harassment – Just you being Neighborly. I wonder though if a Judge would consider it the neighborly thing or harassment ?
Good luck on this one. The industry has already responded to this issue. They now have a throttle control setting that keeps the db levels below the limits when they want them to, and a flick of a switch and they can ramp up. Basically they have 2 decibel operating levels, and they’ll say they have them so that their workers don’t have to carry 2 different blowers depending on which community they are in. This means a landscaper can show authorities that their blowers are compliant, and the only way to catch them is for police to get there in time, and measure the noise level without being seen by the landscapers.
J:
Her clean-up was $400 up to $1000? For winter clean-up? That’s high at $400. That feels like price gouging to me. Mine was $200 the last time I hired a company to do it. None of my neighbors have mentioned large increases, although several have mentioned that they are hoping the summer will be less noisy.
Seems like lots of whining and complaining, but no one has yet told us what harm a landscaper suffers by being asked to show what machines he is using and if he complies with the law.
The folks who wanted a ban were afraid of non-compliance with sensible regulation. At the time, many of the pro-landscaper folks on this board said the laws are on the books, enforce those. Or said allow us to keep one low noise noiseblower even during winter, trust us that we won’t use the louder ones.
Now that some folks are seeking to verify, now this is vigilante action, horrible newton residents, waste of policy time, sky is falling, sky is falling. C’mon now.
The only thing that surprises me about this is the police involvement. Why doesn’t the city have inspectional services that handle this? Here is a solution to the police involvement: Have the city dedicate one or two inspectors to policing noise regulations. The fines, if done correctly, can pay for a big portion of their salary.
And as a reminder, several of the posters on this thread are either owners of landscaping companies or related to owners of landscaping companies. As such, for them this is less about property rights and more about maintaining a large profit margin for their business. I’m very sympathetic to property rights, understanding about profit motive, but government has the right to set forth sensible regulations and to police said regulations. Newton residents have the right to ask for inspections to enforce said regulations and to report violators. This all feels like whining to me on the landscaping side. Lots of scary stories about massive price increases, complaining about actually being checked on following the law, and strange comparisons to one off short term noisy endevours like road paving and snow blowing.
Now, my opinion would change quickly if there were roving bands of newtonite following landscaping crews around and calling the police every few minutes. If the purpose was to harrass and not inspect, you’ve lost me. But as someone mentioned above, I doubt the police would have much patience for that, and over time they would adjust their inspectional role accordingly.
And Joanne, I’ve mentioned before, you do your side no favors by how you respond to posts. Would anything please you except complete freedom of the landscapers to operate? Are any regulations necessary in your book? Health? Safety? How about ear protection for your workers? Workers comp?
Now, if this follows the other threads, cue the complaints of long posts, bullying, etc. How mean and spoiled Newton residents are. The typical challenge of try doing the job with just a rake for a day or a week and you’ll see how fast you’ll push for loud blowers. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Here is the reality for both sides. The compromise was far from perfect. Let’s see how it works over a year or two, including this portion of it. The reporting of violations is part of the process. Neither side got what they wanted. If the landscapers want to complete avoid inspections, only using low noise machines or electric machines seems like a good solution to me. If the residents want to avoid requesting inspections and wasting their time, accept some additional noise.
Me, I’m bought a few new rakes. I could use the exercise.
Randy:
In the end, that will be a mistake for the landscaping companies. That type of duplicity will just push us all towards an absolute ban during multiple seasons. Also, isn’t it limited to electric during the summer?
And there is certainly a way to police the dual system as well. You just need the regulation to state that for inspectional purposes the city will assume the highest level the machine is capable up will be presumed to have been used.
I’m more than willing to listen to the landscaping side, but if they are just going to lie to avoid the regulation, I think they will find a lot fewer supporters in the Councel over time. The truth comes out eventually.
There used to be several reasonable landscapers posting here as well. What happened to those folks?
The new law says that to be legal a leaf blower must have a rated maximum volume of 65 dB at 50 feet, and the rating must be shown on the machine. So, having a louder leaf blower and turning it down when the police arrive won’t work. It’s the machine that’s illegal or legal, not the amount of noise it is making at any given moment. If somebody is trying to evade the law in that way, perhaps a little enforcement (which I guess some people would call harassment) might be in order.
Keeping a legal leaf blower around just for show is a bit sleazy, isn’t it? If that’s what people really are doing, it seems like having folks around to take pictures and expose the fraud is the type of harassment we need. Keep in mind, however, that people who don’t like leaf blowers can point to that kind of behavior by landscapers as a reason to have the most enforceable law possible: no leaf blowers. It would be ironic if a few wiseacres trying stunts like that were to send their entire business back to rakes, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
I was having some trouble figuring out what is meant by “harassment.” But now I think I have it.
If I like what you are doing, that’s good citizenship and assisting law enforcement in their duties. This would be especially so in the case of immigration laws.
If I don’t like what you’re doing, it’s harassment, especially if it ends up with me or my friends or relatives getting caught violating the law.
For years, I have heard that the prices going up was a threat or scare tactic put up by the landscapers, now the opposition says that it is happening, wow time is money, or light finally dawns on
Marblehead. Get ready for the Fall, if you think prices have gone up now, more leaves, plus more time ,plus weak machines, equals bigger bills!
Joanne, Sorry to disappoint you, but “Old Wise One” and I are actually two different people. I admit I did sign in a couple of times as “Better”. I explained why at the time. Anyway, I do think “Old Wise One” is a lot smarter than me and hit the nail on the head, so to speak. And, sorry to say, I haven’t participated in the “Superhero” activities you’ve been attacking. I’ve mostly supported the restrictions on leaf blowers by addressing the P&S Committee with presentations based on extensive reviews of the available health research and other literature, and I assume you’ve read the reports and other materials posted under the “Pages” and “More – Files” tabs on the NS&S meetup site. I know that you know that professional landscapers who do not use gas leaf blowers are available in Newton (see Green Newton’s web site) and in many, many other communities nationwide, and that you are also very aware that there is a nation-wide community effort to get legislation passed to restrict the use of gas leaf blowers (see the Quite Communities, Sonoma CALM, Huntington CALM, and the many other sites you can find with a simple Google search for “leaf blower restrictions”, etc. So, we’re really not unique, here in Newton. Also, frankly, I think the hard-working landscapers in Newton who make the effort to figure out how to get up to speed on what are becoming very popular alternative, green, clean and serene services will get a big edge up on the competition that doesn’t and be well rewarded for their efforts with increased business and profit, as seems to be the case in other communities. But, like I said, “Old Wise One” made the point much better than I can. All Best, Alex B
Two corrections to my previous comment: the other commenter I referred to is “Oh Wise One”, not “Old Wise One”, and it’s “Quiet Communities”, not “Quite Communities”. I do apologize for any confusion. (I should know better than to post so late in the evening.) Also, Sonoma CALM’s site is: https://snalb.wordpress.com and their FB page is:https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=sonoma%20calm. Huntington CALM’s site is: https://www.facebook.com/huntingtoncalm; Quiet Communities’ site is: https://www.quietcommunities.org. By the way, Harvard University’s campus landscaping service is now using only battery-powered equipment (http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/3/28/landscape-services-leaf-blowers/)
I am looking forward to not hearing the leaf blowers in the summer, and being able to open my windows. I am also looking forward to not having to run through clouds of dust and debris from leaf blowers when I’m running along Comm Ave. I have used a landscaper who only rakes for years and my prices are not any higher than the “leaf blowing landscapers” and they have not gone up, including for this year’s spring cleaning.
@Rachel just so we’re all clear, fortunately, there is no complete ban on the “leaf blowing landscapers” as you call them. You’ll just be hearing them now for a longer period of time in the summer and there could be more than 1 used per property depending on plot sizes to get the job done as quickly and as efficiently as it was previously done. Also, I’m so curious, which landscape company do you use that rakes only and does not increase his cost to operate his business and what exactly does your clean up entail of and how many hours is he on your property? I assume that you have a very small yard?
§ 20-13 NEWTON ORDINANCES — CIVIL FINES AND MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES § 20-13
(h) Restrictions on use of leaf blowers. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 20-13 (f) and (g), on or after January 1, 2017 no person, including any City employee or contractor, shall use or operate a leaf blower within the City of Newton from Memorial Day through Labor Day in each year, except that one 65 dB(A) electric or battery powered leaf blower per lot may be used during this period. At all other times leaf blowers may be operated subject to the following provisions:
(1) Permitted hours of use. Leaf blowers may be operated only during the following times:
Monday – Friday: 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., except that the City of Newton, through its Parks and Recreation Department, shall be allowed to use leaf blowers prior to 7:00 a.m. for the sole purpose of maintaining city village centers.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sundays and legal holidays: prohibited except for operation by a resident of the property on which the leaf blower is operated between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; and except for operation of leaf blowers on contiguous lots under single ownership that total a minimum of thirty acres used for institutional or recreational purposes between 9:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
(2) Only leaf blowers meeting the following criteria are permitted for use:
A. Leaf blowers must be manufactured after January 1, 2005 for EPA Class 4 engines and after January 1, 2008 for EPA Class 5 engines;
B. Leaf blowers must bear an affixed manufacturer’s label indicating the model number of the leaf blower;
C. Leaf blowers must bear an affixed manufacturer’s label documenting a noise rating of 65 dB(A) or less; and
D. Leaf blowers may only be used with any muffler, full extension tube and sound attenuating devices supplied by the manufacturer of the leaf blower. Non-factory modifications are not permitted.
(3) During times of emergency caused by a storm or other special circumstance, the Mayor or his designee may temporarily suspend application of all or a portion of this section for purposes of cleaning up from such storm or other special circumstance.
(4) The provisions of section 20-13 (i) shall not apply to leaf blower operation.
(http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/45829)