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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MAY 27, 2014
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER
MEETING DATE: 06/02/14
ITEM NO: 15
SUBJECT: ADOPT AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS AMENDING SECTION
16.20.060 OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS MUNICIPAL CODE TO REGULATE
THE USE AND OPERATION OF LEAF BLOWERS AND ADD IN A SECTION
16.20.070 RELATED TO ENFORCEMENT
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Adopt ordinance that was introduced at the Town Council meeting of May 5, 2014.
2. Instruct the Clerk Administrator to either:
a. Publish the ordinance within 30 days after adoption; or
b. Publish a summary no more than 30 days after adoption (if summary published before
adoption.)
BACKGROUND:
On May 5, 2014, Council introduced an ordinance, which amends section 16.20.060 of the Town of Los
Gatos Municipal Code to regulate the use and operation of leaf blowers and add in section 16.20.070
related to enforcement (Attachment 1).
DISCUSSION:
At its meeting of May 5, 2014, the Town Council held a public hearing to consider amending section
16.20.060 of the Town of Los Gatos Municipal Code to regulate the use and operation of leaf blowers
and add in a section 16.20.070 related to enforcement.
PREPARED BY: CHRISTINA GILMORE q1
Assistant to the Town Mana S1
Reviewed by:
Assistant Town Manager �td2Town Attorney Finance
N:\h4GRWdminWorkFi1m\2014 Council Report0me 2\LEAF BLOWER FINAL ADOPTION JUNE 2 2014.docx
PAGE
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: LEAF BLOWER ORDINANCE
JUNE 2, 2014
The amended Ordinance to the Los Gatos Municipal Code includes two re- drafted sections per the
direction of the Town Council at the May 5 public hearing. Based upon this direction, Section
16.20.060, item B has been re- drafted as follows:
B) Electric leaf blowers in excess of 65 decibels shall be prohibited from use in all
residential, commercial, and industrial zones or public space, measured 50 feet from the
source.
Section 16.20.070, item C has been re- drafted as follows:
Q The violation of any provision contained in this chapter, is hereby declared to be
unlawful and any person or entity found to be in violation shall be guilty of an infraction,
which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.
Concerns Regarding the Ordinance
While the Town has received input from members of the public who support the regulation of leaf
blowers, others have expressed concern. Attachment 2 includes emails in support and opposition to the
proposed ordinance, which mirror comments received at the study session and prior public hearings. In
addition to the comments received, staff has monitored comments posted to the Next Door Los Gatos
community forum on this subject. To date, there are 59 comments posted in support and 85 in opposition
to the proposed ordinance.
CONCLUSION:
If Council adopts the ordinance at its June 2, 2014 meeting, the ordinance would go into effect on July 1,
2014, and will be noticed through a Town -wide postcard mailing and advertising. A soft enforcement
period will go into effect from July 1 through January 1, 2015. During this period, warning letters will
be sent to operators found to be in violation of the ordinance to bring them into compliance. After
January 1, 2015, enforcement penalties will be assessed as outlined within the Town Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
Is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is minimal fiscal impact associated with the approval of the recommendations as described above.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance of the Town of Los Gatos Amending Section 16.20.060 of the Town of Los Gatos
Municipal Code to Regulate the Use and Operation of Leaf Blowers and add in a Section
16.20.070 related to enforcement.
2. Public Comments received through 12:00 p.m. Thursday, May 29, 2014.
ORDINANCE
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF
LOS GATOS AMENDING SECTION 16.20.60 OF THE LOS GATOS TOWN
CODE RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS ON LEAF BLOWER
OPERATIONS AND ADDING SECTION 16.20.70
WHEREAS, the use of motorized leaf blowers adversely impacts community health and
welfare; and
WHEREAS, motorized leaf blowers generate high noise levels, which disrupt
neighborhood tranquility, disturb residents, workers and visitors, and thereby degrade the quality
of life in Los Gatos; and
WHEREAS, the use of motorized leaf blowers increases the volume of particulate matter
in the air and thereby exacerbates allergies and respiratory ailments.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Los Gatos Town Code Section 16.20.60 is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 16.20.060. Powered equipment.
a) Gasoline leaf blowers shall be prohibited from use in all residential,
commercial, and industrial zones or public space.
b) Electric leaf blowers in excess of 65 decibels shall be prohibited from use
in all residential, commercial, and industrial zones or public space,
measured 50 feet from the source.
c) Miscellaneous nonstationary noise sources such as; electric or gasoline
lawn mowers, electrical leaf blowers, edge trimmers, hedge trimmers and
other similar moveable noise sources shall be operated only during the
hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
weekends in residential, commercial, industrial, public spaces or noise
sensitive zones. Leaf blower use is prohibited on Sundays and holidays.
d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to emergency work as
defined in article I of this chapter.
ATTACHMENT 1
e) Powered toys and models. No person shall operate or permit to be
operated any powered toy or model, as defined in article I of this chapter,
so as to cause a noise disturbance across a residential property plane or
violate the limitations and provisions of this chapter.
Sec. 16.20.070. Enforcement and violation— penalty
a) The Town Manager, or his or her designee, has primary responsibility for
enforcement of this Chapter. The Town Manager is authorized to promulgate
regulations and to take any and all other actions reasonable and necessary to
enforce this Chapter, including, but not limited to, investigating violations, and
issuing fines.
b) If the Town Manager or his or her designee determines that a violation of this
Chapter has occurred, he /she will issue a written warning notice that a violation
has occurred and the potential penalties that will apply for future violations.
c) The violation of any provision contained in this chapter, is hereby declared
to be unlawful and any person or entity found to be in violation shall be
guilty of an infraction, which shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
five hundred dollars.
d) The remedies provided in this subsection are not exclusive, and nothing in this
subsection shall preclude the use or application of any other remedies, penalties
or procedures established by law.
Any provision of the Los Gatos Town or appendices thereto inconsistent with the
provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby
repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason
held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The Town
Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section,
subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to
whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
The Mayor shall sign and the Town Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance.
The Town Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15
days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption.
This Ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of
Los Gatos on , and adopted by the following vote as an ordinance of the Town of Los
Gatos at a meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos on _. This ordinance takes
effect 30 days after it is adopted.
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
AYES:
NAYS:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN
SIGNED:
MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
ATTEST:
CLERK ADMINISTRATOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA
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From: ]Mckay3427(ulaol.com [mailto:]Mckav3427(abaol.com]
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 3:55 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: I support the leaf blower ban everywhere!
Gentlemen:
Thank you for considering the argument for leaf blower bans. This is an important issue for many of us. I'm hoping your
community will take the lead for our other cities. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Jean McKay
San Jose
ATTACHMENT 2
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: Kristianna Dill [mailto :kristianna.dill @Rmail.comj
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 5:44 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Leaf blowers
I wholeheartedly support a gas powered leaf blower ban in Los gatos. They pollute both the air and quality of life. They
are unnecessary, when gardeners can just use electric blowers or sweep. Homeowners and offices can afford to pay
slightly more for costs to maintain electric or sweep if they can afford gardeners in the first place. Ban gas powered leaf
blowers in Los gatos as well as California!
Mrs. Kristianna Dill
Registered voter.
Sent from my iPhone
From: jonie murphy [mailto:ioniebalonek (&omaii.com]
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 7:56 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: support the ban for leaf blowers
Hi there. I cannot attend the City Council meeting but wanted to express by support to ban leaf blowers.
Jonie
ioniebaloney(i� email.com
From: seizumiCalaim.com [mailto:seizumi(Oaim.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2014 4:37 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Please ban leaf blowers
Hello:
Please ban leaf blowers. Leaf blowers stir up toxins from people's yards & from our public roads. People put fungicide,
herbicide, insecticides on their lawns - I try to keep my dog off lawns because I suspect that doing that once or twice a day
compounds their chances of contracting an epithelial cancer on their paws. On driveways & roads, asbestos falls off of
brakes, then cars leak oil, brake fluid & gas, all of which are carcinogenic. Do we really need this extra toxin load in the
air we, our children, our elderly parents & our pets breathe? No!
Thanks for your attention,
Susan Briggs
From: Betty Jean Rogers [mailto ducknbi(a)aoI.com]
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 3:32 PM
To: ManagerOLosGatosCa.Gov.
Subject: Leaf Blower Ordinance Proposal
Please consider the homeowners at 201 Howes Drive, Los Gatos in favor of subject ordinance. Thank you.
M/M Jim Rogers
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: Sue Plep [mailto:saplep@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 5:55 PM
To: Council
Subject: Leaf Blowers -
Town Council
Thank you! Thank you!!!
A good start.
Gary Plep
39 Bayview Ave.
Sent from my i
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: Steve Marzolf [mailto:steve.marzolf @earthlink.net)
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:28 AM
To: Don Rocha; Marty Stuczynski; Town Manager; Sam Liccardo for Mayor of San Jose
Subject: Another problem with leaf blowers: blindness
Most people would not encounter this, but I did because I bicycle on residential streets en route to the trails (Alamitos
Creek, Guadalupe River, Los Gatos Creek).
I was temporarily blinded while riding my bike by a man in the street (1100 block of Cherry) with a leaf blower who was
blowing billows of dust and dirt into the street. I was approaching him from behind so he didn't see me. I tried to avoid
the blast by swerving to the left, but an approaching car prevented that. I had to stop then to try to clean my eyes with a
squirt from my water bottle. Had traffic been heavy I could have been injured or worse. Two days later it happened
again on a different street, but I was able to avoid most of it. I have encountered this before in more than 12 years riding
the same streets but with much less consequence.
I don't fault any of the people using the blowers: they can't keep tabs on who's coming and going. Any rules to control
the use of dust blowers could not be enforced.
The only way to prevent this is to ban the leaf /dust /dirt blowers completely.
Please consider this safety hazard when it comes to a City Council vote.
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From: Mike Yarman [mailto:rhamgr(o)comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 7:48 AM
To: Town Manager
Cc: Stewartmci(o)aol.com; bob beyer
Subject: Proposed Leaf Blower Ordinance
Town Council, Town of Los Gatos:
Esteemed Council Members;
I am again writing regarding the Proposed Leaf Blower Ordinance. Leaf - blowers can be annoying, we all agree on that,
and I agree that at times users crank them up, start too early and or late and point them at us as we walk and drive
by. To ban private use of leaf- blowers will be an intrusive and very expensive proposition both for the landscaper,
homeowner and the Town as well.
While the Ordinance allows for some types of electric blowers, I'm not sure the industry has provided an electric blower
battery that can provide the same type of result as a gas blower with any less decibels. Having 107 acres and three
tennis courts to clean I will need a few hundred miles of electric cords to get the job done.
Please take the time to research and study what impact this has had on other communities and the short and long term
effect and consider some of the below effects.
1. Who is going to enforce the Ordinance ( Have you included someone from Code Enforcement to see what the
impact will be on their department)
2. How will you be able to distinguish the use of a Leaf Blower noise from a Lawn Mower, Weed - Wacker, Lawn
Vacuum, before you response to the complaint.
3. The cost of landscape services will increase and you will be impacting the repair, sales service industry.
4. Have you researched the cost impact to the Town and Parks and Recreation Services.
5. Is the Ordinance going to ban street - sweeping vehicles, air conditioners, chain saws, lawn vacuums.
6. Have you taken into consideration you're going to need more staff to answer all the complaints over the phone
Why not look into reducing noise and air pollution with the following:
1. Commercial blowers maybe used on only ONE day per week, per area.
2. Have commercial blowers display a sticker, issued by Public works certifying the blower only puts out 65
decibels or less. ( Income for the Town for permits)
Please take the time to research what impact, both good and bad this will have and how other communities have fared
both short and longterm. I am happy to volunteer to be on an committee to research and report back to the Town
Council.
Yours truly,
Mike Yarman CCAM
General Manager Rinconada Hills Association.
408- 374 -3895
From: amoessinger(abcomcast.net [ mailto :gmoessingerCabcomcast.net]
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 8:41 AM
To: Council
Subject: ban on gas leaf blowers
Town Council - I just read in the LG Paper that the Town Council banned gas blowers and certain leaf
blowers that exceed noise limits. I have to say that the sound of a leaf blower used by gardners can
be annoying, but I think an outright ban is shortsighted. I also have to question why the Town Council
would spend its time on this.
First, many of my neighbors use a gardning service. I do not. I do have a gas leaf blower for two
reason. One, I got tired of having to replacing my electric leaf blower because of faulty workmanship.
I replace two within 12 months. Second, gas is more efficient for my workloads. I have lots of trees
and the heavy leaves, material, etc which make an electric blower useless.
I have a good reason to use gas but as a homeowner, you want to legislate what I should use
because some of our residents are complaining about noise ? So the answer is to ban the gas blower
as the source of the noise ? I think this is really shortsighted. It seems to me that a few residents are
bending the ear of the town council.
So the Town Council wants me to go purchase a new leaf blower ? And all of the employees of the
gardening services must now also purchase new blowers ? Really ? That is an economic burden to
this group. This is the best solution ? What are other towns /cities doing ?
Is the next item on your agenda to ban dogs from barking ? Or do you now make the waste removal
service purchase new mufflers for their vehicles because they are very noisey ? Where does this stop
If I lived in another town and read this in the paper my conclusion would be that Los Gatos thinks like
a very exclusive group.
Greg Moessinger
Los Gatos
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: noreply(cacivicplus com [_mailto:noreply @civicplus.comJ
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2014 5:44 PM
To: Town Manager; Christina Gilmore
Subject: Online Form Submittal: Customer Feedback Form
The following form was submitted via your website: Customer Feedback Form
Name:: Jed Keller
Address:: 15310 Suview Drive
City:: Los Gatos
State:: CA
Zip:: 95032
Home Phone Number:: (408) 356 -0790
Daytime Phone Number:: (408) 356 -0790
Email Address:: ledkeller(@verizon.net
Please let us know how we are doing or what we can do for you!: Gas Powered Leaf Blowers. I strongly disagree with
banning gas powered leaf blowers. There are many neighborhoods in Los Gatos- downtown, residential and rural. I do
not think that this decision represents a majority of the population and is the result of a few zealots. Please reconsider
this regulation. Maybe we need another petition on the ballot!!!
Additional Information:
Form submitted on: 5/11/2014 5:44:19 PM
Submitted from IP Address: 71.116.83.151
Referrer Page: http: / /www.losgatosca.gov/
Form Address: http:lZwww.losgatosca.gov/Forms.aspx?F]D=48
From: Gale Burt rmailto:burt(&us.ibm.com_7
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 4:56 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Leaf Blower Ordinance
I am very much opposed to the proposal to ban gas - powered leaf blowers in Los Gatos. I agree with the concept of trying
to minimize the noise by restricting the use of leaf blowers to certain hours, but I think this ordinance is placing on undue
burden on the homeowners of Los Gatos and /or the contractors whom they employ. I would estimate that most Los
Gatos residents, myself included, accomplish their landscaping needs through the services of a gardener or landscaping
management company, many of whom do not use or own electric leaf blowers. Banning the use of gas - powered leaf
blowers is basically forcing the homeowners to either fire their current gardening staff and search for a new one, force
their current staff to purchase electric leaf blowers, or personally purchase an electric leaf blower. I consider none of
these options to be fair or acceptable to the homeowners, and it is discriminatory to smaller, independent landscape
companies. What's next? Banning the use of gas - powered lawn mowers ?!
Regards,
Gale Burt
From: David Gorman [ mailto :aorman.david.e(iilgmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 8:16 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Feedback on proposed leaf blower ordinance
Hello,
I'm writing to submit feedback on the proposed ban of gas - powered leaf blowers that is in front of the town
council.
My wife and I own our home at 14761 Golf Links Drive in Los Gatos and I use a gas powered handheld leaf
blower to maintain our yard. I do this not more than twice per month as it is but a blanket ban on all gas
powered blowers ( "Gasoline leaf blowers shall be prohibited from use in all residential, commercial, and
industrial zones or public space') would prevent us from being able to keep our property clean. We have
approximately 1/3 acre with much of it being a semi - wooded slope that is not feasible to clean by hand and
electric models on the market are not viable alternatives. We do not have grass because we've chosen a low -
water -use landscape, which is ironic because we don't need a lawn mower which would be allowable under the
ordinance. Electric blowers are under - powered and would likely result in increasing the amount of time that a
neighbor would have to listen to a slightly quieter electric machine. We are good neighbors and would feel
worse about this than about running a gas blower for a little while. This extra time would also disturb more of
any particulate matter that might be blown into the air, not less (to the point in the ordinance about public
welfare). Even hand - raking a yard will disturb dirt & pollen. To those concerns about air pollution, it has not
been shown that dust and allergens are exacerbated by handheld blowers. In fact, it's documented that the
particles that cause those problems are relatively big and fall back to the ground not far from where they were
blown into the air. The air pollution that arguably is caused by any combustion engine is no worse for leaf
blowers than that from other homeowner tools such as lawn mowers, weed trimmers, chain saws and other
everyday tools which are not part of this proposed ban.
I get it - machines are noisy. So are lawn mowers, cars, and kids. However, these are all part of living in an
area that has the trees we protect and open personal & public space we enjoy with our families. I've researched
electric models, and own one as well, but they are not adequate. The gas model we own is the quietest I could
find (measured in Db) that still had homeowner -level cleaning ability. Many of our neighbors do hire landscape
companies to maintain their property and perhaps those companies could simply add more workers to
compensate for lack of equipment and consequently charge more for the service. However, such an outright
ban would force us to pay someone to clean our property when we'd rather do it ourselves, or (more likely)
force our neighbors to look at our less frequently maintained yard and wish we had our gas — powered blower
back.
I would ask the Council to implement a more realistic ordinance if one is to be adopted and will propose
alternatives, which the ordinance does not currently offer:
From: Mitchel Drew [mailto:mitchel drew()gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 3:54 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Proposed Leaf Blower Ordinance
I'm a 10 year resident of Los Gatos and the entire time I've used an electric leaf blower and lawn mower when
working in my yard. I do support the proposed ban on gas powered blowers.
However, I strongly object to the hours of operation. Specifically Sunday and holidays. I have a young family
and we attend many activities that only take place on Saturday leaving only Sunday (and sometimes holidays)
for me to do yard work including mowing the lawn. Its impossible for me to get home weekdays before 5pm
and I refuse to waste my money hiring a landscaping company to maintain my yard during the week when I'm
perfectly capable of doing it myself.
I'm asking that the ban on Sunday's and holiday's be stricken from the current ordinance and those days
be modified to include the hours of l lam - 4pm.
Mitch Drew
Kensington Way, Los Gatos
1
RECEIVED
MAY 16 2014
May 13, 2014
San Jose, Ca MAYOR & TOWN COUNCIL
Dear Sirs
This letter is in reference to your recent vote, to ban 2 cycle blowers.
I spent the last 40 years working in this beautiful valley. Most of that time was spent
around landscape equip. I worked at dealerships, and at commercial, Industrial,
landscape companies.
The blowers, chain saws, lined trimmers, gang banger radio's, and hedge trimmers
all make too much noise. Landscapers can only use the equip manufacturing
companies, make available to them. Customers want a clean landscape, but do not
want to pay the extra man hours, to rake, or water hose off, the dirt, and leaves.
I have a few thoughts on the subject of landscapers, that I don't hear much about.
Why do the landscape contractors haul large loads of green waste, on our streets, and
freeways? They have a contractors license, but not for commercial hauling. Why not
make a law that says, if you grow it, you own it? Recycle on site, would be good!
The gas, and diesel fuel, combined with the man hours, to haul green waste around
our valley is a waste of money.
Let's make a law that says, you must use the existing soil on your property for your
plants.
Why do we allow big, heavy duty, trucks, on our crowded freeways, just to move
soil from one place, to another? It costs big dollars to haul dirt around, and the
large trucks damage highways, and cause traffic congestion.
Buying dirt, is like buying air, doesn't it belong, to all of us?
We should stop the use of PVC sprinkler pipe. Workers cut underground utilities when
they trench to install it. PVC pollutes the soil, much like plastic pollutes the water
in bottled water. You get a leaching process from all items, you put into mother
earth.
Make folks water with a hose, and shower head nozzle. They will enjoy the quiet
time, plus water will be put where needed, thus avoiding water waste.
Over my many years in the work force, I often times used hearing protection.
Ear plugs, and muffs, are avail at most hardware stores, for anyone who can't
stand noise.
Thanks for your EAR /
Marvin Christy t /
From: Karen Kurtz [mailto: ku rtzk(.acomcast. net]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 5:31 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: I support the bane on gas powered leaf blowers
These are nasty machines that continue to pollute our environment with dust, gas emissions & noise. Please continue to
push this bane into law.
Thank you,
From: Debbie McNulty [ mailto :debbiemcnultvCcomcast.net]
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2014 5:49 PM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Commets regarding Leaf blower ordinance
Dear Members of the Town Council,
I am writing to you about the new Town Resolution banning gas powered leaf blowers
I feel the ordinance should not have been passed the way it was done without proper input from the community and without
considering all of the impacts. I had heard that the issue was up for discussion, but didn't expect to read in the paper that the ordinance
had already passed. I am a member of Nexdoor.com (Kennedy North Area) and can tell you that there are a lot of people who are very
passionate about this issue. Some are in support, but far more are vehemently against it.
There are a lot of other noise producing devices around here. Just today I had to listen to what sounded like a jackhammer for at least
an hour while working at home. Are we going to create an ordinance against home remodeling projects? What about the tree
trimmers? Have you ever had a tree trimmer run their wood chippers on your street? The noise they make is equally disturbing. What
about gas mowers and weed whackers. Should we all just stop maintaining our landscaping? Not!
We have been living here for 22 yrs. and have remodeled our house twice as have many of our neighbors. We have all lived with the
trucks, cement mixers and other equipment that produce noise and create inconveniences for months on end. Sure it is a pain when
your neighbor remodels, but it is for the good of the neighborhood to upgrade and maintain our properties. Ongoing property
maintenance should not be treated any differently.
For many people with larger yards, the manual rake process is just not feasible and electric blowers just don't do a good job. We live
on a quiet cul -de -sac off Shannon Road. We don't have a large yard, but my husband takes pride in keeping it nice by working in the
yard on weekends. He is respectful of the times that he chooses to mow and blow, but, yes, he uses a gas powered blower. As far as
he is concerned there is now other way to get thejob done. With the blower he can finish the yard (after edging and mowing) in about
10 minutes. Is that really unreasonable?
What happens to all of small landscaping companies who own this equipment and can't afford to replace it? Who is going to pay the
cost of re- equipping these guys, or do we just run them out of town and consider them to be collateral damage to our lack of
tolerance? For people who don't have the time to tend to their own yard, who is going to do it if they can't find a gardener they can
afford who doesn't use a gas powered blower?
I agree that the noise can be a nuisance from time to time, but I would prefer to see more limits on the hours of the day than a
complete ban on their use.
I would like to see the use of all these noisy devices allowed, but restricted to 9 -5 on weekdays when most of us working folks are not
at home and 10 -4 on Saturdays (so those of us who choose to personally maintain our yard and work during the week have a chance to
get the work done). Sundays could be a "noise free day" where no blowers would be allowed or the time could be more restrictive, like
10 -2.
I happen to be a resident who works from home. When one of my neighbors is getting their yard done, I just close my windows. It
doesn't last that long to be intolerable. I would rather live with the noise than look at an un- manicured yard next -door.
Come on folks. Let's all be neighborly and try to work together for a compromise to serve the good of all.
Debbie McNulty
Independent CAbi Consultant
408- 358 -1597
debbiemcnultv(a),comcast.net
From: michael stawowy [mailto:vwowatsm(.@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 7:06 AM
To: Town Manager
Subject: Gas Leaf blower ban
Hello, I'm writing to voice my concerns with the ordinance the town council is approving. I'm not clear on what's driving the
ordinance as I was unable to attend. Honestly I didn't think I would adversely impacted by an ordinance that was to ban gas
blowers as mine is electric- -but it seems I am impacted.
I understand that commercial properties can take some time to clean and the noise will be irritating. So banning gas powered
blowers might be OK if that's really the biggest contributor to the noise issue --gas powered string trimmers and mowers also
make a considerable amount of noise. But I'm not looking to debate this part.
What I'd like you to reconsider is limiting the home owner to using an electric blower M -F from 8am -5pm and Saturdays 9-4. For
someone who maintains their own property this is not acceptable. This is a dramatic departure from the current noise
abatement ordinances on the book. Current ordinances are 8 -8 weekdays and 9-4 Sunday.
I work from 8 -5 M -F so this means I cannot maintain my yard on weekdays without the potential of a $500 fine. Limiting my
weekend time is also challenging, as I do travel from time to time and may not be home on a given Saturday —This would mean I
could go 2 weeks without maintaining my yard. OR I hire a landscaping company, and since I enjoy the yard work I'm unwilling
to go along with paying someone $200 /month for maintenance.
Where I honestly believe the goal of the ordinance is to control commercial landscapers noise level and work times I ask you to
reconsider the language of this ordinance and provide an exemption to the home owner, using an electric blower, from the
restrictive operating hours.
Thank you for your time
From: Tony Nanez (mailto:tonynanez(abme.coml
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:02 AM
To: Christina Gilmore
Subject: leaf blowers
while I'm not totally against the 8 -5 hours people can use leaf blowers,
i am against as a home owner without ( gardening service) not allowed to
use a leaf blower on my erp sonal property on sundays as monday thru saturday i may
be too busy (ie)(WORK)!! with an oak,eucalyptus,pine,redwood and magnolia trees that shed
365 days a year i need to be able to leaf blow when i have the time!!
make the law where only home owners can use leaf blowers on sundays.
thanks for your consideration
tony
Tony Nanez
tonynanezCcDme.com
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