By Kathy Savolt -
In October, the Board of Trustees (BOT) passed a new law banning gas-powered leaf blowers. See previous article HERE. At the time, members of the Committee for the Environment (CFTE), who strongly supported the law, urged some additional changes such as removing the exemption for the Village and aligning the permitted times with Larchmont to make it easier for landscapers.
Despite concerns from Village staff and other speakers about the ability of electric leaf blowers to perform efficiently (especially in large tracts of land such as parks), the BOT passed the new law and asked the Village Attorney to draft another law adding the items requested by the CFTE. The new law is scheduled to become effective in May 2024.
At the 12/11 BOT meeting, this proposed law, with some of the last minute changes from November, was subject to a Public Hearing. Several persons spoke against banning gas-powered leaf blowers, despite the fact that the ban was already passed. Representatives from Hampshire Country Club (120 acres) and Beach Point Club (20 acres) as well as owners of landscaping companies and individual landscapers spoke against the ban. All said that the technology for electric blowers was not sufficient for large tracts of land at this time.
Liam Robb O’Hagan from the CFTE acknowledged that their efforts were more suited to homes and golf courses were “a different issue.”
At the end of the discussion, the public hearing was closed, and no vote was taken.
Following the meeting, the Observer received a copy of an email sent to the BOT from six residents who attended the meeting. They reported meeting up with others who were there to comment on the leaf blower ban and spent some time trying to hash out a solution acceptable to all. Here’s the full text of the email See HERE.
