The Journal News - July 8, 2007
By Rebecca Baker
GREENBURGH - Town officials are considering revving up Greenburgh's leaf-blower law, possibly with a summertime ban or restricting the hours when the noisy machines can be used.
Greenburgh was among the first communities in Westchester to place time and noise limits on gasoline-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers, enacting a law in October 1995.
But in the wake of this year's seasonal ban on leaf blowers in Yonkers and tougher emissions standards passed by Westchester County lawmakers, town Supervisor Paul Feiner has asked the Conservation Advisory Council to review the law and recommend changes.
"This has been, without a doubt, one of the bigger quality-of-life issues in town," he said. "I've gotten tons of complaints and e-mails from people. For some, it drives them crazy."
Right now, Greenburgh allows gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
When they are used, leaf blowers and lawn mowers can't be louder than 55 decibels from May 1 to Oct. 1 and no louder than 75 decibels during the other months. Violators face fines of $50 to $500.
Enforcing the time limits for lawn equipment is easy, Police Chief John Kapica said. Enforcing the decibel limits is not.
When landscapers or homeowners see a police car rolling down the street, Kapica said, they turn down or turn off their leaf blowers and power them back up when officers leave. Kapica said he has resorted to sending undercover officers in unmarked police cars to catch persistent leaf-blower scofflaws. But the department can't do that all the time.
"Frankly, it's not a high priority," he said. "If there was an outright ban certain times of the year, it would be easier."
The other problem is that only a handful of patrol officers are trained to use the department's two decibel readers, Kapica said. And when neighbors complain anonymously, patrol officers have no address to use as a starting point to measure the noise, the chief said.
Advocates for seasonal bans on leaf blowers say the gas-powered machines cause both noise and air pollution from the exhaust. Westchester now requires that companies licensed by the county for home improvement certify that half of their machines meet a strict emissions standard by 2008 and all meet the standard by 2009.
Yonkers banned the use of leaf blowers from June 1 to Sept. 30, mirroring bans that New Rochelle and White Plains enacted more than a decade ago. Several other municipalities have enacted similar bans over the years.
A few Greenburgh homeowners last week said they would welcome a tougher leaf-blower law.
John T. Kane, 54, owner of an auto body shop, lives in the Orchard Hill neighborhood. He said he would like to ban leaf blowers and lawn mowers after 4 p.m. weekdays, after 6 p.m. Saturdays and all day on Sundays.
"Sunday should be a day of quiet," he said. "I believe moderation is a factor."
Merrill Cassell, a retired budget director who lives in the Poet's Corner neighborhood, also favors a Sunday ban and stricter time limits. He said noisy lawn equipment makes his neighborhood sound like a factory.
"It's the contractors who come, four, five at a time, using big lawn mowers and leaf blowers in unison," the 65-year-old said. "There's only a few months of the year when you can be outside and enjoy."
Town Board member Diana Juettner said leaf-blower noise can cause problems for people with home offices who have a hard time getting work done because of the noise outside. However, she said, any changes to Greenburgh's leaf-blower law would have to consider homeowners' property rights.
"We'll need to balance the interests," she said.
Reach Rebecca Baker at rebaker@lohud.com or 914-694-5064.