Town Meeting Replaces Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban with 'Compromise'

The bylaw amendment passed Wednesday by 18 votes.

Town Meeting did away with the town’s controversial seasonal leaf-blower ban Wednesday night, replacing it with a list of restrictions that’s been dubbed the “leaf-blower compromise.” Some Town Meeting members took issue with the term “compromise,” as they said the new bylaw, which passed 113-95, “eviscerates” the intent of the seasonal ban. The seasonal ban, which Town Meeting passed 95-85 last May, would have prohibited the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property from May 15 to Oct. 15. The ban was never in effect (it would have been starting next month). The new bylaw, which was developed by a Town Meeting committee, allows commercial and town employees to use leaf blowers from Sept. 15 to June 15. Then, from June 15 to Sept…

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Kim

10:25 am on Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The strange thing about this debate is people who say things like, "All this banning nonsense is getting out of control", are the same people that stood up for the ban on self-serve gas.   more ›

5 Things You Need To Know Today

Two Controversial Articles at Town Meeting Tonight

Town Meeting members will consider a bottled-water ban and leaf-blower compromise.

Today is Wednesday, April 24. Here are five things you need to know. 1.) Town Meeting members will vote on a bottled-water ban and leaf-blower compromise tonight during a Special Town Meeting. The bottled-water ban, which was opposed by the Board of Selectmen, would prohibit the sale of single-serving bottled water in town. The ban is being proposed by three Arlington High seniors – Amy Currul, Sonia Zacher and Marina Milan – for environmental reasons. The leaf-blower compromise, which was crafted by a town committee, looks to lessen the restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers from the seasonal ban, which was passed at Town Meeting last May and upheld at a Special Election in July and Special Town Meeting in October. If the compromise is …

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Selectmen to Consider Two Controversial Warrant Articles Monday

Two issues that have been the talk of the town are set to go before the board.

The Board of Selectmen will consider two controversial Special Town Meeting warrant articles Monday evening, the bottled-water-ban and the leaf-blower-compromise articles, according to the agenda. Three Arlington High seniors, Amy Currul, Sonia Zacher and Marina Milan, submitted the bottled-water-ban article by petition, and they’ll also be the ones presenting the article to the board. The Board of Selectmen inserted the leaf-blower-compromise article, which was crafted by the 2012 Special Town Meeting Leaf Blower Committee. Both articles will be decided on by Town Meeting in late April. The Special Town Meeting portion of the regular Town Meeting starts on Wednesday, April 24, at 8 p.m. The board’s meeting is at 7:15 p.m. Monday, March 18…

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Leaf-Blower Committee Recommends Bylaw Amendment for Special Town Meeting

The recommendation, which drastically lessens the restrictions on leaf blowers from the currently approved seasonal ban, will go before the Board of Selectmen again on Monday, March 18, before heading to Special Town Meeting, Wednesday, April 24.

The 2012 Special Town Meeting Leaf Blower Committee, which was tasked with crafting a leaf-blower compromise, unveiled its recommended bylaw amendment Monday to the Board of Selectmen. The recommendation, which was not put forward unanimously by the committee, will now be discussed and voted on by the board on Monday, March 18, before going on to the Special Town Meeting on Wednesday, April 24. Arlington’s seasonal leaf-blower ban, which prohibits the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property from May 15 to Oct. 15, was passed at Town Meeting last May in a 95-85 vote. It was then upheld at a Special Election in July, and a Special Town Meeting in October, when the current leaf-blower committee was formed.  The ban has not been in…

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Leaf-Blower Committee to Unveil Bylaw Compromise Tonight

The compromise was voted on almost unanimously by the committee, according to a representative from the Arlington Landscape Association.

The following was emailed to Arlington Patch by Joe Kerble, of Brothers Lawn Service, on behalf of the Arlington Landscape Association. As members of the Town of Arlington leaf blower compromise committee, we would like to invite you to a public meeting on Monday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to see the result of all of our work to come up with a compromise leaf blower law for Arlington. You will see the proposed bylaw that was written and voted on almost unanimously by our committee of 13 citizens who set out to amend the current bylaw to reflect the views of the voters. This bylaw sets sensible guidelines and hours of operation that allows people to care for or have their property cared for the way they see fit while protecting the …

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Public Input Meeting on Leaf Blowers Jan. 14

The meeting is from 7-9 p.m. at Town Hall.

The following is from the Town of Arlington.  The 2012 Special Town Meeting Leaf Blower Committee will hold a public meeting on Monday, January 14, 2013, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Arlington Town Hall, 730 Massachusetts Avenue. The public is invited to attend. The agenda for the meeting is as follows: For complete additional meeting details please visit the 2012 Special Town Meeting Leaf Blower Committee page. Past Leaf-Blower Coverage

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Opinion: Political Cartoon

Cartoonist Chris DeRoo's take on Arlington's leaf-blower saga.

For more on Arlington's leaf-blower ban, including the results of Wednesday's roll-call vote at the Special Town Meeting, see Arlington Patch's Leaf Blowers Topics Page.

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Town Meeting Members' Individual Roll-Call Votes on the Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban

Town Meeting members who voted "Yes" were voting for substituting the motion that would have put a repeal of the ban to a vote. Members who voted "No" were voting against substituting the motion and, therefore, were in favor of keeping the ban in place.

For more from Wednesday's Special Town Meeting, see "Town Meeting Upholds Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban." The attached results were provided by Town Clerk Stephanie Lucarelli.

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Town Meeting Upholds Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban

Members also agreed Wednesday to establish a leaf-blower committee, which will be tasked with crafting a compromise for Town Meeting next spring.

Town Meeting members kept the town’s seasonal leaf-blower ban in place Wednesday night. Members voted 110-95 against substituting a motion that would have put a repeal of the ban to a vote. Town Meeting Members' Individual Roll-Call Votes The substitute motion was proposed by Stephen Harrington, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 13 who forced the Board of Selectmen to call Wednesday’s Special Town Meeting by submitting a petition with more than 200 signatures to have the ban reconsidered this fall. Wednesday’s final tally was recorded by a roll-call vote – Town Moderator John Leone read members names one by one, and their individual voice votes were recorded. About 81 percent of members were present for the vote. The ban, which prohibits…

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