Leaf Blower Use Debated at Forum

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CALM was not the order of the day at a recent meeting in Greenwich, Conn. pitting residents who want a ban on these tools and landscape contractors who say they are vital for their businesses.

Citizens Against Leafblower Mania, (CALM) was formed earlier this year in an effort to raise awareness to what they cite as a health hazard, the use of leaf blowers.

Greenwich Conn.’s health czar is not convinced that leaf blowers cause illness.

“We need to see scientific evidence and reports based on valid information, Caroline Calderone Baisley, the town’s health director, said.

Baisley’s comments, made during a League of Women Voters of Greenwich forum on leaf blowers, drew the ire of supporters of a proposed six-month ban on the machines.

The moratorium’s lead proponent excoriated Baisley, saying a top pediatrician and epidemiologist at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York detailed the hazards of leaf blowers on breathing, hearing and vision in a letter to the Board of Health.

“I’m saddened and quite shocked,” said Gretchen Biggs, CALM. “Breathing pesticides is not a health threat, we’ve just been told.”

Baisley confirmed that health officials received the letter from Philip Landrigan, a public health advocate who lives in Mamaroneck, N.Y., but not his full report on leaf blowers.

The town recently drafted a proposed ordinance banning leaf blowers between April 15 and Oct. 15, at the request of CALM.

The yet-to-be-voted-on ban is encountering resistance from landscapers, who complained that the restriction would pose a hardship for their businesses and drive up costs for them and their customers.

“Go to someone’s house who has two acres and rake or sweep,” said Will Dunster, a panelist who owns Dunster Landscaping in Greenwich.

However, Biggs disputed claims that the ban would inflict hardship on landscapers.

“There is no evidence of economic harm of any sort,” Biggs said.

A number of other cities and towns, including Rye, N.Y.; Boulder, Colo.; and Palo Alto, Calif., have adopted similar bans.

A moratorium on the use of leaf blowers would require the approval of both the Board of Selectmen and the Representative Town Meeting.

The town amended its noise ordinance in the mid-1990s to include gasoline-powered leaf blowers, restricting their use between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. weekdays and between 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. weekends and holidays.

Under the ordinance, only one gas-powered leaf blower can be used at a time on residential and commercial properties that are one quarter-acre or less. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the single leaf blower requirement applies to all properties. Violators face a $100 fine per offense.

The ban’s supporters have characterized the existing regulations as a “joke,” saying leaf blowers contribute to hearing loss, asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, pollution, storm drain obstructions, soil problems and hazards to animals, plants and insects.

Baisley conceded that enforcement is lacking.

“To date, the leaf blower restrictions are not being properly enforced,” Baisley said.

The format of the event, in which audience members submitted questions on index cards to a moderator, did not allow for the give-and-take of a public hearing.

Jeff Greco, the owner of a landscaping company bearing his name, said in an interview with the Greenwich Time that it would require a lot more manpower for contractors to make up for the loss of leaf blowers.

“Things are going to take a lot longer,” Greco said.

Among the panelists was Bruce Spaman, the town’s superintendent of parks and trees, who said that his department relies on 52 leaf blowers to take care of 2,000 acres of parkland.

“You wouldn’t take a chain saw out of the hands of tree workers,” Spaman said.