East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen led a village board discussion on extending a ban on gas or diesel-powered leaf blowers last week.
Use or operation of gas and diesel-powered leaf blowers is prohibited in the village between May 15 and Sept. 15. Referring to North Haven Village’s recent extension of its own prohibition from May 1 through Oct. 31, which went into effect this month, the mayor said that “the proposal is to extend it,” also prohibiting use of the fossil fuel-powered landscaping equipment in East Hampton Village from May 1 through Oct. 31.
“The idea is to be consistent with the other municipalities,” the mayor said, “because the landscapers move from one municipality to another, and to have different regulations and laws makes it more complicated and easier for them to violate something they’re not even aware of.” Only Southampton Village, which enacted a year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers in 2024, has a stricter policy than North Haven’s.
Friday’s meeting coincided with the first day of the village’s current four-month ban, Carrie Doyle, a trustee, noted, along with more restrictive hours during which landscaping activity can take place. “I really implore all the landscaping companies and construction to adhere to this,” she said. “I am the ‘Karen’ who runs after people and says ‘please stop,’ because people do not stop at 6, at 7, at 8.” The village, she said, “is bucolic. We want quietude. So it’s really important that we work on noise regulations and that people adhere to them, and please be sensitive to your neighbors.”
It is time, Ms. Doyle said, “that we reduce as much noise as possible, and therefore I would be in favor of this.”
Another board member, Jason Tuma, was “100 percent in favor,” he said. “Moving these dates is only going to benefit our enjoyment of the community. It’s not going to impact the landscapers terribly. It’s before fall and when the heavy cleanups start.”
On North Haven, Mr. Tuma added, the village “took it one step further and they fine the homeowner, not the landscaper.” He suggested the village might consider that as well. The North Haven Village Board voted last month to double the fine for noncompliance to $500, payable by the property owner and not the landscaper performing the work.
Ms. Doyle agreed, citing a neighbor whose landscaper routinely works until 7 p.m. “Maybe the neighbor would care if they started getting” the fine, she said.
The other two board members, Christopher Minardi and Sandra Melendez, were absent from the meeting.
The board will schedule a public hearing on its proposal to extend the ban.
