Ordinance Review Committee recommends ban on gas leaf blowers, removes obsolete profanity rule and forwards many referrals for further study

The Ordinance Review Committee of Northampton City voted unanimously on Nov. 27 to recommend banning gas‑powered leaf blowers and to strike an obsolete municipal prohibition on "obscene or profane language," while moving many other public referrals into housekeeping or further‑study lists.

Councilor Moulton moved the committee "recommends banning gas powered leaf blowers in the city," a motion that was seconded by the chair and approved in a roll call vote of members present, recorded by staff. The committee then discussed next steps for drafting ordinance language, with the solicitor and counsel offering to prepare drafting when the City Council takes up the recommendation.

Why it matters: proponents said a ban would reduce noise and air pollution associated with small internal‑combustion landscaping equipment, an environmental and quality‑of‑life concern raised during public comment. Committee members agreed the recommendation can be forwarded without the committee authoring final ordinance text, leaving drafting to staff or the City Council.

The committee also considered a longstanding code provision that prohibited obscene or profane language in public. Solicitor Alan Sewald cautioned that retaining such language risks First Amendment challenges and uneven enforcement; members agreed and voted to include striking the clause in the committee's removal recommendations. "Recommend to strike," one member said during the vote, and the roll call returned unanimous support.

Other referrals were routed for additional work or listed as housekeeping. The committee agreed to update gendered pronouns in city code to gender‑neutral "they," to review pedestrian‑signal legend language for a housekeeping update, and to include suggestions on snow and ice removal, e‑bike regulation, pesticide signage on city‑stewarded land, and notice to abutters on a further‑study/addendum list for the final report. Several members asked that items requiring technical or enforcement expertise be referred to the appropriate staff or council committees for detailed drafting or review.

On state law overlap: when Jonathan Levin raised a proposal to adopt a local anti‑idling ordinance, Solicitor Sewald noted that MGL chapter 90 §16A already addresses idling and described the practical issue as enforcement rather than adoption of a new local ordinance; members accepted that characterization and noted enforcement follow‑up would be appropriate.

What’s next: the committee set a follow‑up meeting for Dec. 3 (proposed earlier start to allow more agenda time) to finalize deliberations on key items such as snow and ice removal and food‑truck rules so the solicitor can prepare the committee's final report and recommended ordinance changes for submission to the City Council. The report will include an addendum listing public referrals the committee heard but did not take action on.

Votes at a glance: the committee recorded unanimous roll‑call votes to (1) "recommend banning gas powered leaf blowers in the city" (moved by Councilor Moulton; seconded by the chair; roll call yes: Dobbs, Perry, Moulton, Cutler, Moses) and (2) "recommend to strike" the obsolete obscene/profane language clause (motion made and seconded; roll call unanimous). Other items were placed in "further study," retained as housekeeping updates, or noted for referral to staff/committees.

The committee adjourned after confirming the Dec. 3 schedule and assigning drafting and follow‑up responsibilities.