HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-29-NAC-min Town of Lexington
Noise Advisory Committee
Minutes of Meeting on October 29,2019
Final Revision (3) last edited November 19, 2019
A meeting of the Noise Advisory Committee was held on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at 7:30 PM in the
Parker Room of Lexington Town Hall. A quorum of five members was present.
Members Present: Holly Sweet(Chair), Dan Koretz, Lee Minardi (former member), Mark McConnell,
April Wang, Nick Afshartous,
1. Minutes of the previous (September) meeting were voted unanimously by the committee to
accept them.
2. The committee accomplished the following items:
• Reviewed bylaws in 17 local towns governing construction noise limits. Developed a draft
proposal of a construction bylaw for Lexington to be presented to the Select Board in an
upcoming meeting.
• Discussed the strategy for a public awareness campaign for the bylaw for gas powered lawn care
use.
• Reviewed and revised the committee's timeline for implementing the gas-powered lawn care
and construction bylaws.
• Developed a list of action items for the committee to meet deadlines listed on the timeline.
3. The details of the above accomplishments are listed below.
Proposal for Construction Noise Bylaw Revisions
A rough draft of the construction noise bylaw for Lexington is shown below. During the meeting,there
was considerable discussion regarding the inclusion of additional restrictions for the use of powered
equipment used in the breaking of rock and pavement at a construction site. This has been an active
complaint by some residents.
Operating or permitting the operation of tools or equipment used in construction, drilling or demolition
work in a manner such that the sound creates a condition of noise nuisance across a real property
boundary is restricted to occur within the following time periods.
Commercial operators Residents
Weekdays 7:00 am and 5:00 pm 7:00 am and 9:00 pm
Saturdays 9:00 am and 5:00 pm 9:00 am and 5:00 pm
Additionally, blasting,the use of
pile drivers, and the use of
powered equipment(e.g.,
hydraulic/pneumatic hammers,
etc.) used in the breaking of rock
and pavement at a construction
site is prohibited on Saturdays.
Sundays/Holidays No construction noise allowed 9:00 am and 5:00 pm
Noise Conimittee "]iniefine
November 2019:
• Start public awareness campaign to educate people about the health effects of gas-powered
lawn equipment and to recruit people to support the Noise Committee
o A few social media groups to focus this effort would be:The Lexington List
(https://groups.io/g/lexington), Lexington Mavens (Facebook group), Next Door app
o Nick is working with Jamie Banks to write an article for the Lexington Minuteman to
publicize the DPW work in converting from gas to electric
• Meet with Board of Health
December 16, 2019:
9 Select Board meeting to present Construction Noise Bylaw
December 2019 through June 2020:
• Continue working on public awareness
June 2020:
• Secure endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce, SustainLex, others
July/August 2020:
• Present warrant to Selectmen
Action Items:
Action Item Person Responsible Due Date
Set up Slack for improving communications within the group Mark M Nov 1
Assemble documentation about noise, health and Mark M Nov 4
environmental effects in Slack.
Research the effects (Noise, environmental, health) of gas- Nick Nov 15 for(a)
powered lawn equipment based on documentation from:
James Fallow,Jamie Banks, other sources provided by Mark Nov 19 for(b)
Sandeen.
a. Provide bullet points of health/environmental
effects to Mark M and Holly for the purposes of
drafting the public awareness communications
(preferably before Nov 15)
b. Provide outline of essay by the next meeting
(November 19).
Liaise with the Health Department about monitoring noise Dan November
complaints and will meet with the director(Kari Sasportas)to
get her onboard with the proposed bylaw.
Interview Green Landscapers Dan Nov 15
Start drafting communications templates for the public Mark M, Holly Nov 15
awareness campaign. Topics to include in communications:
• Loss of hearing
• Particulate matter size
• Noxious gases—respiratory problems, asthma
• Animal excrement
• Pollution linked to dementia
A date of Tuesday November 19, 2019 was set for the next meeting