The 2024 Quiet Season!

Limitations on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Pound Ridge are in effect from May 15 through October 15.

During those months, the commercial use of gas-powered leaf blowers in town is prohibited.

The Town's Noise Ordinance defines commercial use as: "Any work or activity associated with the normal exterior maintenance or repair of a property, performed by a third-party contractor..."

Town Supervisor Kevin Hansan and Police Chief Tom Mulcahy have told us that the Town will be enforcing the law this year, after a period of education and warnings last year.

Enforcement will consist of an official warning for a first offense; a ticket for an appearance in Town Court for a second offense; and a fine.

The homeowner, the owner of the landscape company, and the person using the leaf blower will all be charged.

The seasonal leaf blower restrictions are in addition to the year-round noise restrictions. Landscapers and other commercial operators are allowed to work only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Sundays and holidays are quiet days.

The number to call to make a complaint about a noise violation is 914 764-4206.

Out of consideration for the police dispatcher and our law enforcement officers, please review this short checklist before you place a call to report an infraction:

1.Know the difference between the noise of a gas-powered leaf blower and other mechanical tools that generate noise but whose use is perfectly legal within proscribed hours (electric leaf blowers; chainsaws; generators; weed-whackers; stone cutters, etc.)

2. If possible, be ready to provide a specific address for the property where the gas-powered leaf blower is in use. Know that individual homeowners are allowed to use gas-powered leaf blowers between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. seven days a week, even on holidays — and hope that they use this privilege judiciously.

3. If possible, also be ready to provide the name of the landscaping business that is servicing the property. Do not walk or drive onto private property to investigate. Landscapers tend to work on schedules, so you might record the time and day that an infraction occurs and be ready to report it promptly the following week should it happen again.

4. Police officers in Pound Ridge respond to a variety of calls, and certain incidents will take precedent over the report of a noisy leaf blower. Please be patient and understand that by the time an officer arrives, the landscapers might have moved on. (Chief Mulcahey noted that some landscapers deliberately blow at the very end of their visit so as to exploit this gap in response time.)   

Thank you for cooperating in effective enforcement of the noise ordinance, and have a happy, more peaceful summer!

Here is the link to the Town Code section with the new regulation.