2019-05-22-NAC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

DRAFT DRAFT Town of Lexington Noise Advisory Committee Minutes of Meeting of May 22, 2019 A meeting of the Noise Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 7:30 PM in the Parker Room of the Town Hall. A quorum of five members was present. Members Present: Nick Afshartous, Dan Koretz, Mark McConnell, Lee Minardi (Chair), Mark Sandeen (Selectman). Other attendees present: Jamie Banks—Founder and Executive Director of Quiet Communities, Tom Henry—Lincoln resident, Rick Reibstein—Lexington resident and lecturer at Boston University, Holly Sweet—Lexington resident. Mark Sandeen Introduction Mark is the new Select Board liaison member of the committee. Results of Noise Bylaw Enforcement Research Dan Koretz presented the results of his research into the success that some towns with specified noise limit thresholds had with enforcement of those limits. He found that enforcement varied greatly. Towns with db limits assessed violations either by measuring noise levels with a sound meter or by verifying that the leaf blower had a manufacturer's label indicating that its noise level was equal to or below the bylaw limit. Using the manufacturer's sticker is more enforceable as it does not require special equipment or the difficult process of getting a live credible measurement. Larger towna were able to have a code enforcement officer handle violations with the benefit of offloading the police department from this responsibility. Mr. Koretz stated that in some towns the police department and government officials were reluctant to enforce noise bylaws. He mentioned that 26 towns in California have all year restrictions on the use of gas powered leaf blowers while many have partial bans (restrictions during certain months). Lincoln Leaf Blower Bylaw Review Lincoln, Massachusetts recently approved a bylaw that prohibits the use of gas powered leaf blowers during specific times of the year. The full bylaw can be found at: http://Iincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/41707/Lincoln-Leaf-Blower-Bylaw- and-FAQs-3-15-2019?bidld= 2019 05 22-NAC-min.docx