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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-22-NAC-min 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 Noise Advisory Committee 2 Jamie Banks, a Lincoln resident, director of Quiet Communities, and lead champion of the bylaw gave a presentation on the process that led to the adoption of the bylaw. In addition to public meetings to educate and gain feedback, other activities were used to get the word out including the distribution of flyers at popular town meetings and events (e.g., road race) and meetings with various groups and town agencies to develop support for the initiative. They also used a website and Facebook site. Key to the bylaw approval was the support of respected groups and a simple bylaw statement. Dr. Banks said that prior to the vote a bylaw statement regarding a specified noise limit was removed by request. The full process took about six years from original concept to approval. It should be noted that Lincoln's Town Meeting is direct voter participation whereas Lexington uses a representative model (only the 197 elected Lexington TM members vote). General Discussion on How to Proceed A general discussion was had to discuss the content of the proposed bylaw, how to educate the public about the proposal, and how to gain support with Town Meeting members and town officials to help ensure the approval of a new bylaw. The proposed bylaw can be considered to have three parts: 1. restrictions on when (hours of the day, days of the week)powered lawn care equipment can be used. 2. restrictions targeted specifically at gas powered leaf blowers. 3. restrictions on the maximum noise level of certain lawn care equipment. Issues 1 and 2 were not discussed at the meeting since the summary version for the bylaw developed for the December 3, 2018 Select Board meeting is an adequate initial draft. Select Board comments on that presentation can be found here. http://records.lexingtonma.gov/WebLink/O/doc/365269/Page6.as]px Dan Koretz stated that an explicit noise level restriction be included in the bylaw while Lee Minardi said that the bylaw not include a maximum permitted db noise level. Much discussion centered on the need for public awareness and how to get the support of Town Meeting members and other key town decision makers. Mark Sandeen outlined the Town Meeting process and suggested that contact be made with TM members for each precinct and that the weeks in the winter before the March 2020 meeting was probably the best time to do so. Noise Advisory Committee 3 Mr. Sandeen recommended that we develop support with interested parties. He also mentioned that he believed that Select Board and TM members would want to be confident that any bylaw that passed would not be overturned later due to poor communications and an inadequately crafted bylaw. Action Items 1. Holly Sweet expressed interest in joining the committee. Lee Minardi said he would forward her the necessary information and forms necessary to apply. 2. Dan Koretz said he would make a matrix of noise bylaw elements for area towns. 3. Nick Afshartous volunteered to contact David Pinsonneault, DPW Director, to develop a list of lawn care companies working in Lexington, and those that may be considered more green' . 4. Dan Koretz and Holly Sweet volunteered to start a plan for public awareness.