Here's What To Know About Greenwich's New Leaf Blower Restrictions

GREENWICH, CT — The summertime restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers will officially go into effect on Friday, May 24, at 6 p.m.

The Representative Town Meeting in January approved a new town noise ordinance after it was suddenly repealed by the Greenwich Department of Health.

Included in the ordinance were restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers. The efforts for restrictions were spearheaded by Quiet Yards Greenwich, a community group that had been looking to solve what it says is a community-wide problem of excessive noise and pollution from the blowers.

Here's what to know:

• Gasoline-powered leaf blowers in residential zones are prohibited from 6 p.m. the Friday before Memorial Day through Sept. 30, except for properties of 2-plus acres where the prohibition ends the day after Labor Day, which is Sept. 3.
• Any leaf blower may not be used between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. Monday through Friday and between 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
• Commercial use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers on premises in residential zones is prohibited on Sundays.
• Commercial and/or residential parcels of a quarter-acre or less may only be serviced by one leaf blower at any given time.
• Electric leaf blowers are permitted year-round.

There will be no penalties or punishment for violations this summer to allow time for education on the new language for residents and landscapers.

Penalties will kick in beginning in 2025. The ordinance notes that a first offense comes with a warning and education on the ordinance provisions; a second offense is a $100 fine; and each subsequent offense is a $249 fine.

The leaf blower ordinance will be a topic of discussion during the Board of Selectmen's regularly scheduled meeting on May 23.

Last month, Town Administrator Ben Branyan appeared before the Board of Selectmen and said the town — notably the Parks and Recreation Department — was seeking a three-year variance to be exempted from the gas-powered leaf blower ordinance until May 2027 to allow more time to research and test what equipment would be most appropriate and cost effective.

Several residents opposed the request during a public hearing, saying it would set the wrong precedent and undercut the intention of the restrictions.

According to meeting minutes from May 9, town resident Karen Fassuliotis spoke in support of the variance for Parks & Rec., and further said there was a worry that landscapers would be put out of business trying to adjust. She suggested extending a variance to commercial landscapers.

The selectmen seemed to agree that a one-year variance for the town was appropriate. A written legal opinion on the variance request must be made within 10 days of the public hearing, which would be May 23.

Also on the agenda for Thursday's Board of Selectmen meeting are requests for ordinance variances from several landscaping companies.

The Board of Selectmen meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., from Town Hall, and it will be streamed via Zoom.