Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-24-NAC-min Town of Lexington Noise Advisory Committee(NAC) Minutes of Meeting November 24,2020 A meeting of the Noise Advisory Committee ("NAC')was held via Zoom videoconference on Tuesday November 24, 2020 at 7:00 PM. A quorum of four members was present. NAC Members Present: Dan Koretz (Chair),Vicki Blier, April Wang, Nick Afshartous, Stewart Smith Others Present:Judith Glixon (Volunteer),John (Jay) Flynn (BOH), Mark Sandeen (Town of Lexington) Opening Remarks 1. Approval of the Minutes Dan presented the minutes of the October 28, 2020 meeting.The committee voted to accept them. 2. Possible Amendments to Law-Care Proposal a. Limits on Number of Pieces of Gas-powered Lawn Equipment or, alternatively,just GLBs, operated Simultaneously The Committee considered this issue and resolved that no limits would currently be sought on the simultaneous operation of equipment.The Committee noted, amongst other things,that noise created by number of gas-powered machines operated simultaneously may be of shorter duration due to possible efficiencies. b. Stricter Noise Limits After discussion,the Committee agreed to maintain the current limit of 78dbA measured at 50 feet. c. Time Limits on Operation per Lot After discussion, the Committee agreed that no time limits on operation per lot would be sought at this time. d. Making Responsibility for Violations Explicit For enforcement purposes,the Committee considered whether both residents and landscape operators will be held responsible for violations of the proposed bylaw. It was agreed that both parties would bear responsibility during enforcement. Dan made a motion that the proposal be amended to include responsibility to both owners/leaseholders and landscape operators.The motion was seconded by Stewart and following a vote was passed unanimously. e. Exempting Residents from Eventual GLB Ban After deliberation,the Committee agreed that residents will be exempted from the GLB ban.Various factors were considered, and the Committee took note of the fact that residents do not run- down/replace equipment at the same frequency as landscape operators. f. Establishment of Penalties The Committee discussed the issue of whether fines should be imposed for violations of the proposed bylaw.The Committee considered what steps other communities had taken in this regard and noted the schedule of fines in Newton and Brookline. It was unanimously agreed that a warning would be issued for the first offense. Penalties will be $50 for a second offense, $100 for a third offense and $150 for each subsequent offense. 3. Approval of Proposed Amendment to Noise Bylaw After discussing the process and wording required to submit the proposed amendment of the Noise Bylaw for inclusion in the town meeting agenda,the Committee unanimously agreed,following a verbal roll-call vote,to approve the draft warrant article, as amended by the Town Council,and pending legal review. Dan undertook to submit the approved draft warrant to Kim and Kelly at the Town. 4. Ongoing Discussion with the Board of Health Dan briefed the Committee on the latest discussions with the Board concerning its potential support of the Lawncare proposal. BOH has expressed concern over drawing a causal connection between GLB operation and Covid 19. Jay briefed the Committee from BOH's standpoint and noted that there was no basis a conclusion regarding Covid 19. After discussion,the Committee agreed to remove references to a link between Covid 19 and the operation of GLBs from its materials including the one-pager and the slide deck. In view of the Committee's decision on this issue,Jay advised that the next BOH meeting is scheduled for December and there was a reasonable chance that the BOH would endorse the proposal. 5. Assignment of Tasks a. The Committee members will review the list of potential questions for landscapers created by Vicki. b. Stewart and Dan agreed to revise the slide deck and one-pager to remove references to Covid 19. c. Dan will revise the Motion and summary documents and circulate to the Committee for comments ahead of submission to the Town. d. Vicki will work to create a draft information sheet regarding the Motion. e. Next meeting The Committee agreed that the next meeting of the NAC would take place on December 9, 2020 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. There being no further business,the meeting was adjourned. Action Items Person Responsible Due Date 1. Review and update our list of towns that have Dan/Nick Ongoing regulated lawn equipment. Make calls to find success stories that can be presented to the Select Board and TM. 2. Reorganize and consolidate the information we have Stewart Complete collected over time on health effects, etc. 3. Craft one or more short blurbs and slide presentations Dan Complete based on#2,for use in approaching the groups noted below. 4. Contact the Board of Health to ask for support. We Nick(with assistance Complete should do this ASAP as soon as we have#2 done (as we from Mark S.) should reference specific studies on health effects in approaching Wendy Heiger-Bernays. 5. Request opportunities to present to Lexington civic Throughout groups, including: October and a. Sustainable Lexington a. Mark S November b. Lex GWAC b. Judith C. Citizens for Lexington Conservation c. Judith d. League of Women Voters d. Judith e. Lexington Mavens e. April f. Mothers Out Front f. Judith g. Lexington Green Teams (Cindy Arens) g. Judith 6. Create and distribute survey to collect usable data on Mark M In Progress GLB public opinion April 7. Decide whether to contact people who participated in Dan Pending earlier threads. Note that this is easier if we have something like a survey,which gives us a reason to contact them. 8. Obtain MA Medical Association resolution on leaf Stewart Completed blowers (Wendy Alker?) 9. Plan one or two virtual public meetings. Deferred Pending 10. Plan contact with TM members Deferred Pending 11. Do additional social-media work(not entirely specified Stella to assist Pending yet).