More on Leaf Blower ban

fed123 said:

Steve said:

Landscapers are not using turbine blowers on residential properties.  That's the distinction (and why it's rational).  The turbine blowers are going to be used on large properties such as the golf course and public parks.

That limitation is not written into the law. My neighbor's lawn company uses turbo blowers on his lawn. Under the law they could drop by and do that on a Sunday. If I am doing my lawn with an electric blower right next door, I get fined $100. 

Fed- There is a TC meeting tonight.  You can still make it for public comments at the end. 

yahooyahoo said:

Fed- There is a TC meeting tonight.  You can still make it for public comments at the end. 

Thanks much for the suggestion but I am in the of middle grading over 100 law school exams. I hope someone on the TC reads this discussion.  

fed123 said:

Thanks much for the suggestion but I am in the of middle grading over 100 law school exams. I hope someone on the TC reads this discussion.  

I am not aware of anyone on the TC reading MOL.  If you can’t make this evenings meeting, you can email your concerns to the entire TC.  Their email addresses are posted on the town’s website.  By the way, tonight’s meeting is once again unintelligible on YouTube. If you don’t go in person, there is no way of knowing what is gong on.  Closed captioning is recording gibberish.

joan_crystal said:

I am not aware of anyone on the TC reading MOL.  If you can’t make this evenings meeting, you can email your concerns to the entire TC.  Their email addresses are posted on the town’s website.  By the way, tonight’s meeting is once again unintelligible on YouTube. If you don’t go in person, there is no way of knowing what is gong on.  Closed captioning is recording gibberish.

Thanks Joan. I just wrote Vic, who I greatly respect, and if necessary will go to some future meeting.  

fed123 said:

That limitation is not written into the law. My neighbor's lawn company uses turbo blowers on his lawn. Under the law they could drop by and do that on a Sunday. If I am doing my lawn with an electric blower right next door, I get fined $100. 

I don’t think you’re correct on that.  I suspect that they use the push blowers which are not the turbine blowers. 

One of these is a turbine blower; the other is not.

My mistake - you are correct Steve. The company uses the "push blower" for the huge yard, which I called a "Turbo blower."  

What is the going price for Astroturf per square yard?

fed123 said:

My mistake - you are correct Steve. The company uses the "push blower" for the huge yard, which I called a "Turbo blower."  

Now go abuse some law students so that they're ready to be abused as lawyers.

Steve said:

Now go abuse some law students so that they're ready to be abused as lawyers.

I don't know where you are going with that. I don't "abuse" anybody and certainly don't train anybody to be "abused." 

And, while I am back here, as I said earlier the law doesn't express the limitations you read into it. If the company that serves my neighbor chooses to bring in a gas "turbine blower" to do their huge yard on a Sunday, there is nothing in the law to prevent that. Yet I am still under a ban from using my electric blower on Sunday.  

fed123 said:

Steve said:

Now go abuse some law students so that they're ready to be abused as lawyers.

I don't know where you are going with that. I don't "abuse" anybody and certainly don't train anybody to be "abused." 

And, while I am back here, as I said earlier the law doesn't express the limitations you read into it. If the company that serves my neighbor chooses to bring in a gas "turbine blower" to do their huge yard on a Sunday, there is nothing in the law to prevent that. Yet I am still under a ban from using my electric blower on Sunday.  

I was joking.  They're going to be lawyers at some time in the future (you said you were grading law school exams and law school exams suck as a general rule) and they're going to be miserable (at least at times during their careers).

And, yes, a lawn care company could bring in a turbine blower but they are not going to do so.  Among other problems, it would likely result in blowing debris into neighbors yards and destroying any plantings that might be nearby.

dave said:

What is the going price for Astroturf per square yard?

Approximately 0.4 microseconds of the planet’s lifespan.

Why? Is your yard square?

The Sunday ban really doesn’t make sense to me. Electric blowers are OK at 7 a.m. five days a week, but Lord protect us from them all day Sunday.

What are the chances that a Maplewood police officer passes my home on a Sunday while I'm using a leaf blowers? I like my odds...

DaveSchmidt said:

The Sunday ban really doesn’t make sense to me. Electric blowers are OK at 7 a.m. five days a week, but Lord protect us from them all day Sunday.

What about the other day? (Saturday?)

Personally I'd like noise restrictions on both Saturday and Sunday mornings until at least 10am. (Not that I am able to sleep that late, but some people do and ought to have that opportunity on weekends.)

sac said:

What about the other day? (Saturday?)

The 9 a.m. Saturday start doesn’t stand out to me as much as 7 a.m. on weekdays.

This ban is so crazy.  Why doesn't the town just implement zoning for leaf blowers/landscapers just like they do for recycling.  The taxes we pay in this town are so high and now we are going to have to pay more for lawn maintenance

Summit had their ban reversed.  The community rallied together.

So, who's gonna start the petition to overturn the Maplewood ban. It should be all gas powered landscaping equipment if it's going to be done. 

So, Summit had it as a pilot program - primarily used as a noise ordinance.  Looks like they tried it from June through August in 2021.  Here's an article about not pursuing the ban:

https://patch.com/new-jersey/summit/gas-powered-blowers-here-stay-summit-no-ban-2022

And here's the ordinance:

https://www.cityofsummit.org/DocumentCenter/View/5476/Noise-Ordinance-leaf-blowers-DRAFT?bidId=

With all respect to the TC folks who worked on this, Summit got it right and I would certainly support an amendment to bring ours closer in line to theirs. The thought of supporting gas blowing landscapers is out of the question for me. Thanks for the information Jamie!

It’s the use of gas powered leaf blowers in the hands of four guys cleaning up the yards in the fall that’s most annoying. But some homeowner using his leaf blower for 10 minutes to clear the driveway and sidewalk after doing his lawn should not have to be looking over his shoulder to see if a cop car comes cruising by. Ridiculous.

Jaytee said:

It’s the use of gas powered leaf blowers in the hands of four guys cleaning up the yards in the fall that’s most annoying. But some homeowner using his leaf blower for 10 minutes to clear the driveway and sidewalk after doing his lawn should not have to be looking over his shoulder to see if a cop car comes cruising by. Ridiculous.

The police are not going to be used to enforce our ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. 

Can we move beyond the comments about police cruising the streets for lawn maintenance violations.

so how will it be enforced?

yahooyahoo said:

The police are not going to be used to enforce our ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. 

Can we move beyond the comments about police cruising the streets for lawn maintenance violations.

yahooyahoo said:

The police are not going to be used to enforce our ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. 

Can we move beyond the comments about police cruising the streets for lawn maintenance violations.

Actually, they were given this task last year.  Residents were instructed to call the police if they saw someone violating the ordinance that existed at that time.  I doubt the police were expected to be on the look out for violations as they were driving by.

joan_crystal said:

yahooyahoo said:

The police are not going to be used to enforce our ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. 

Can we move beyond the comments about police cruising the streets for lawn maintenance violations.

Actually, they were given this task last year.  Residents were instructed to call the police if they saw someone violating the ordinance that existed at that time.  I doubt the police were expected to be on the look out for violations as they were driving by.

I was told by a TC member to contact the Property Maintenance Divsion.

Oh yeah, they are going to respond within minutes on Saturday or Sunday.

I don't think the goal of reporting someone is to catch them redhanded, but for the Township to contact and remind them of the ordinance and restrictions.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/essex/montclair/2023/10/04/montclair-nj-lawsuit-gas-powered-leaf-blower-ban/71036588007/ good luck Montclair.