Rye Brook trustees keep seasonal leaf‑blower hearing open; HOA exemptions debated

Rye Brook trustees kept a public hearing open and set it for continuation on May 27 after discussing proposed changes to the village’s seasonal leaf‑blower rules and considering exemptions for large homeowners associations.

The discussion concerned a local law (chapter 158, section 2.1 of the village code) that bans gas‑powered leaf blowers from May 1 through Sept. 30 and currently requires officers to issue a warning before a ticket can be given. Village Administrator Chris explained the police chief has said officers cannot reliably document warnings in the field, which prevents enforcement in court. “Right now, we’re not issuing warnings or tickets … we’re not tracking it,” Chris said, arguing the board should consider removing the mandatory‑warning language until the village can establish a reliable tracking mechanism.

The trustees debated alternatives including changing the fee schedule so violations would be payable fines (which are easier to track) rather than court violations, and whether the police could track warnings informally. Trustee Don said he reviewed other Westchester villages and found few that require a written warning in code; several used short warning periods or none at all. After discussion the board voted to keep the public hearing open and continue it to the May 27 meeting so staff can return with enforcement and fee‑schedule options. The motion to keep the hearing open passed 4–0 (Trustee Epstein, Trustee Heiser, Trustee Krom and Mayor Klein voted yes; Trustee Morlino was absent).

Separately, the board considered two exemption applications filed by homeowners associations for properties larger than five acres. Talcott Woods (25 acres, 68 homes) requested a one‑year exemption repeating conditions it said it met last season: (1) landscape work confined to one day per week (Mondays); (2) use of mulching mower blades; (3) use of one gas blower and four electric blowers behind specified homes during July–August; and (4) gas blowers run at half throttle from May 1 to Sept. 30. Talcott Woods’ representatives described operational difficulty switching entirely to battery units across 68 homes but did not receive a board vote that evening; trustees held the item for further review and did not approve or deny the application that night.

Kingfield HOA representatives described a private community of about 110 homes over roughly 20‑plus acres and asked for similar accommodations. The board moved and approved an exemption for Kingfield with conditions: gas blowers may be used at 50% throttle for driveways/roadway work, while stoops, walkways, patios and decks must be serviced using battery/electric blowers; when gas is used on other surfaces it must be at half throttle. The motion passed 4–0 (Epstein, Heiser, Krom, Klein yes; Morlino absent). The board and staff noted that any exemption may include additional conditions the board deems appropriate and that staff will return with precise regulatory language tying exemptions to the village fee schedule if the board wishes to pursue payable violations rather than court actions.

Trustees repeatedly emphasized they did not intend to “go crazy” issuing tickets and sought a practicable enforcement approach that had “teeth.” They asked staff to return with options to (1) remove the mandatory‑warning requirement and pair that change with a revised fee schedule the board could adopt without a public hearing, or (2) craft language referencing the fee schedule so violations would be payable amounts enforceable by the village rather than court summonses. The board left the public hearing open to allow staff time to draft those options and to avoid re‑noticing the hearing.