Orleans May Regulate Landscaping, Leaf blower Noise

ORLEANS – The town could be working its way toward an all-out commercial ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, but not likely until the spring.

 A proposed bylaw that would regulate hours for commercial landscaping work in town and ban companies from using gas leaf blowers was discussed last week among the articles slated for the Nov. 16 special town meeting. But select board members said Sept. 23 that the bylaw is unlikely to be ready to go before voters until next May.

 The goal of the bylaw is to address “excessive noise” in town that is caused by the use of commercial landscaping equipment. Gas-powered leaf blowers, in particular, have been a source of consternation in a number of communities. The draft bylaw, as written, also notes how the leaf blowers contribute to air pollution and other health and environmental impacts.

 Language in the bylaw calls for the prohibition of gas-powered leaf blowers entirely as of March 1, 2027. The ban applies to the commercial use of gas-powered leaf blowers, not residential use. 

 The bylaw also sets hours in which commercial landscaping would be allowed in town. Landscaping would be allowed Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Landscaping would not be allowed on Sundays or legal holidays under the proposed bylaw.

 The town has a noise bylaw, but Assistant Town Manager Mark Reil said that the new bylaw is more specific in scope.

 “The noise bylaw speaks more to general noise,” he said. “It’s not specific to a certain industry or addressing the issues that you’re looking to address.”

The bylaw does not address “string trimmers,” although Select Board Chair Mefford Runyon suggested that it should.

 “The string trimmers and the leaf blowers to me are both equally obnoxious and easily identified,” he said.

 There’s also the matter of how the regulations in the new bylaw would be enforced. The draft gives the board options for who to assign enforcement responsibilities to, including the police department and/or department of health and human services.

 Board members voiced support for putting that enforcement charge on police, with Runyon noting that the department is already charged with enforcing the town’s noise bylaw. Board member Mark Mathison also said the “easily identifiable” nature of commercial landscaping vehicles could make enforcement of the bylaw relatively easy.

 But Town Manager Kim Newman cautioned the board against tasking police with enforcing the bylaw at the expense of public safety.

 “I don’t think we want our police answering leaf blower calls rather than public safety calls,” she said. “And I think we’re going to have to figure out the balance of what that means.” 

There are six towns in Massachusetts that currently have bylaws on the books regulating the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, including Lexington, Belmont, Cambridge, Arlington, Concord and Marblehead. Those towns employ a variety of methods for enforcing their bylaws, with police, health departments and licensing boards among the entities charged with that responsibility, according to information provided by Reil. Both Chatham and Harwich have looked at adopting similar bylaws to regulate gas-powered leaf blowers, but have not yet passed bans or limits.

Newman also added that how enforcement for the bylaw will be funded also needs to be addressed.

 “Can we just be honest with ourselves? This is not ready for primetime,” said board member Kevin Galligan.

 Enforcement has been the subject of discussion around several town initiatives, and board member Michael Herman lamented how the issue has stood in the way of the board’s ability to gain traction on issues in the past.

 “If it’s constantly going to affect us and derail us, then we’ve got to figure that out,” he said. “Because to me, that shouldn’t derail good policies and good governance.”

 Newman countered by noting that the board added the article to the warrant only recently, despite the warrant opening in August. She said it is “not through a lack of effort” on the part of town staff that more information is needed around the proposed bylaw.

 The board agreed that an article on the proposed bylaw would be better suited to go before voters at the next annual town meeting in May.