2019-08-28-NAC-minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Noise Advisory Committee 2 Dan suggested that we should distinguish between blowers and other lawn equipment. He observed that residents sometimes mow lawns in the evening but that he could not recall any instances in which he had seen residents using gas-powered blowers in the evening. The committee then moved to a discussion of the proposed dates for permitting gas blowers in the fall. Mark Sandeen suggested that they are never needed after Thanksgiving. Lee suggested December 20 as a final date. Holly suggested December 1. The committee turned to clarifying which equipment would be included in a new recommendation. Holly initially suggested keeping it simply by referencing only gas blowers. Mark S. responded that this leaves unanswered what we would recommend for other lawn equipment. Dave noted that the DPW now uses electric push mowers but has not switch to electric ride-on mowers. He noted that there are no electric units available for 6 foot or larger cuts, but the DPW is now evaluating smaller electric units and has found at least one that appears promising. The DPW does use electric string trimmers and hedge trimmers and uses electric blowers except for large cleanups. Dan noted that residents typically do not have gas powered string trimmers and that these could therefore simply be added to the provisions for gas blowers. The committee then discussed whether the starting time should be 7:00 or 8:00 AM. Holly suggested 8:00. Lee suggested that some residents need to do yard work early. Dave clarified that 8:00 would be problematic for the DPW because their labor contract requires that employees begin at 7:00. The committee then turned to the ending time. Mark Sandeen pointed out that some commercial firms do not stop work at 5:00,particularly if they have been off work on previous days because of weather. Dave noted that during peak times, the DPW needs to work 12-hour days, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Mark S. asked if that could be restricted to public grounds, but Dave pointed out that in Lexington, most public areas abut residential areas. Dan raised the question of what other towns do for starting times. Mark S. suggested this information would be important for making the proposal salable. Dan noted that most of the other towns we had listed in earlier meetings start at 7:00 and suggested we follow suit. At this point, there was a side conversation about noise limits. Mark S. suggested that we focus on noise limits rather than categories of equipment. Lee noted the research showing that a single noise limit does not fully address the problem because gas blowers create low-frequency noise that travels farther, create substantial harmful emissions, etc. The committee did not change from categories to noise limits. The final recommendation by the committee is as follows: