New Canaan subcommittee votes 5–2 to advance draft ban on gas-powered leaf blowers

At a March 2 meeting, the Town of New Canaan bylaws and ordinances subcommittee voted 5–2 to advance a draft ordinance restricting gas-powered leaf blowers to the full Town Council for further debate and a required public hearing.

The draft as circulated would limit use during the summer season and lays out exemptions, including for single‑unit resident use and certain safety or emergency purposes; the chair said she would remove a reference to snow removal before sending the draft upward.

The vote followed more than two hours of public comment. Nelson Munoz, a Stamford landscaping business owner who joined by Zoom, said his company already uses battery equipment and told the committee, “We don't use any gasoline at all from from from the springtime to the fall time.” Several residents described persistent noise and health effects. Jane Horowitz, who said she has two young children and chronic illness, told the committee that last summer was “extremely extremely loud to the point that we started eating dinner inside.”

Landscapers and some residents urged caution about the logistics and costs of switching equipment. William Gabbro, who identified himself as a fifth‑generation New Canaan landscaper, warned that battery performance degrades and said landscape firms can face large up‑front equipment costs. “Electric batteries are just not there yet,” he said, and raised concerns about using battery blowers for certain pesticide reclamation tasks.

Industry speakers pushed back. Dan, who said he is founder and owner of Mogreen, described operating large, fully battery‑powered crews and told the committee, “If your ordinance started tomorrow, my company and others like it could maintain all your properties at the same competitive rates.”

Committee discussion centered on three technical choices in the draft: whether to restrict electric blowers as well as gas, the allowed hours of operation, and how narrowly to define the resident exemption (for example, limiting it to hard or man‑made surfaces). Councilmember Eric Toonum said he supported limits on gas machines but opposed curbing electric machines and urged consideration of amending the town’s existing noise ordinance instead. “I do not believe there should be any restrictions on the use of electric leaf blowers in the town of New Canaan,” he said.

Chair Hillary Ormond moved to send the draft to the full Town Council; the motion was seconded by Mike Rogers. In the roll call recorded at the meeting the committee reported five votes to advance and two opposed. The chair announced the tally by name on the record: Hillary Ormond — yes; Eric Toonum — no; Heather Russell — yes; Jennifer Zonis — yes; Maria Naughton — no; Kim Norton — yes (total 5 yes, 2 no). The chair said the measure will be scheduled for a Town Council agenda following the town’s budget process, likely in April.

The subcommittee also noted an unrelated, short administrative item: staff will circulate proposed language to explicitly authorize the parking commission to adjudicate parking citation appeals.

The meeting adjourned at about 8:16 p.m. The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the draft ordinance before voting on any final changes.