The Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees is expected to vote July 6 on a resolution that would restrict the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the village to only two-and-half months per year and severely limit the time of day they can be used.

The move comes as a result of resident complaints and “a very well prepared report from the Sleepy Hollow Environmental Advisory Council,” said Mayor Ken Wray at one of two public hearings held in June.

“The noise is obnoxious. These things really get me angry,” said Webber Park resident Patrick Munroe, speaking at a public hearing attended by about 25 residents primarily from Philipse Manor and Webber Park. “We were trying to have dinner on our deck and we couldn’t hear ourselves talk over the noise of a leaf blower.” The source was a neighbor blowing a plastic bag across his lawn, Munroe said.

The Sleepy Hollow Environmental Advisory Council (SHEAC) report, co-written by chair David Bedell and SHEAC member John Maltby, identifies air and noise pollution and the resulting environmental and health effects as the major problems with gas-powered leaf blowers. According to the report, noise from a typical blower reaches 75 decibels at a distance of 50 feet, roughly equivalent to traffic noise in midtown Manhattan. At close range, it reaches 90 decibels, well above what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers hazardous.

“I work at home and when the landscapers come to my block I can’t work. I have to go to the library to escape the noise,” said Philipse Manor resident Amy Bianco.

“I go to my basement,” echoed Adam Strauss, who also works at home in Philipse Manor. “It might only take them 20 minutes to do one lawn, but then they ping pong down the block so the noise goes on for a long time.”

The proposal before the Village Board would restrict the use of gas-powered leaf blowers to the spring (April 15-May 15), when winter debris is removed, and in the fall (October 15 to November 30), when leaves are removed. Permissible hours of use would be between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays and between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekends. The proposal in Sleepy Hollow would also restrict the number of blowers to one per property and would apply to homeowners, professional landscapers and village employees who maintain area parks.

“I believe it’s too restrictive. The dates are wrong and the hours are prohibitive,” said landscaper François Mathieu, who does about half his business in Sleepy Hollow. “Two years ago I was still cleaning up leaves late into December because we had such warm weather. The leaves stayed green longer.”

At least 16 area municipalities have seasonal restrictions on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Most, including Tarrytown, disallow their use during the summer months June 1 through September 30, but permit them to be used during the remaining eight months of the year. None have cut-off dates earlier than December 15, making Sleepy Hollow’s proposed new law potentially one of the more restrictive in the county.

“This will impact us,” said Marlon Bermeo of Bermeo’s Masonry & Landscaping. “It will take us longer to clean the leaves and there will be no way to clean the driveway and sidewalks. We’ll have to charge more and customers don’t want to pay more.”

The SHEAC report identifies leaf blowers as a significant source of air pollution, stating that leaf blowers do not have emission controls and produce the same amount of exhaust pollution in one hour as do 17 cars in the same amount of time. In addition, the report continues, leaf blowers stir up dust which contains particles of animal feces, garden fertilizer, road dirt, and heavy metals that are particularly harmful to children, the elderly, and those with lung conditions. A fact that concerns Sleepy Hollow resident Shachar Link.

“We have an eight-month-old son and we like to play outside, but when the leaf blowers come, we go inside and close all the windows and doors,” Link said.

The lone voice of mild dissent at a public hearing came from Philipse Manor resident Jim Nazemetz, who wanted to know if there will be any exemptions. “I am one of the few people who still maintain my own property. What will we ban next? Weed whackers? Lawn mowers? They make noise too.”

Under the proposed new law, electric leaf blowers will still be allowed, although they are generally considered less powerful than gas blowers. If passed, it is currently unclear how the new law would be enforced or how infractions would be penalized.

The complete SHEAC report is available online at http://sheac.wordpress.com/leaf-blowers/. Follow the available link listed under Recommendations.