Sagaponack Village Institutes Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban

Following in the footsteps of several other local municipalities, Sagaponack Village recently adopted a seasonal ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers by commercial landscaping companies.

At its regular monthly board meeting on Wednesday, April 20, the Sagaponack Village Board unanimously approved banning the use of the gas-powered blowers between May 20 and September 20. The ban does not apply to agricultural use nor to individual homeowner use.

During the rest of the year, gas-powered blowers are not allowed to be used before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. on weekdays, nor before 9 a.m. or after 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and they are prohibited entirely on Sundays.

Mayor Donald Louchheim said the passage of the law was in response to residents who had attended previous board meetings and expressed their frustration with the noise and disturbance caused by the leaf blowers, which is similar to what has happened in other local towns and villages.

“Many people want them banned completely, but I’m not sure that’s really necessary,” he said.

He brought up several points that have been made in defense of sticking to a seasonal ban rather than a full ban — that landscape contractors insist the electric blowers currently on the market are not up to the task, particularly for labor-intensive fall cleanups, and thus it would be premature to institute a full ban until that changes.

“We’ve done it just for the season, and we’ll see how that works,” Louchheim said.