Glen Cove tightens noise restrictions, limits hours for using lawn mowers, leaf blowers

The Glen Cove City Council has unanimously voted to tighten restrictions on "unreasonable noises."

The changes to a local law restrict the weekend hours homeowners and landscapers can use lawn mowers, leaf blowers and other equipment, according to city documents, and adds wood chippers to the list of hardware affected by the code.

Republican Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck said the old code was “outdated” and that the alteration was “a first step” in what is likely to be a series of changes to the noise rules.

“We’re going to be doing it in small batches at a time,” Panzenbeck said at the council meeting Tuesday.  

Previously, homeowners and landscapers could use leaf blowers, mowers and other devices from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. during weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

The new code leaves the weekday hours but limits equipment usage from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Lawn maintenance equipment can’t be used on federal holidays, and commercial operations — from landscapers to construction companies — are now prohibited from working on Sundays, except in circumstances where emergency work has to be completed.

Democratic Councilwoman Marsha Silverman said she’s received a multitude of complaints over noise, including from non-lawn-related sources like restaurants playing loud music, and feels the council will have to go “a lot further” to refine the rules.

The ordinance, she said, isn’t targeted at homeowners doing routine maintenance.

"I don’t think any of us are really talking about day-to-day individuals mowing their lawn; it’s the incessant, really loud noises that are disturbing people,” Silverman said.

Republican Councilman Kevin Maccarone said most issues with neighborhood noise can be solved with “neighborly” conversations and that enforcement would only be needed if those discussions don’t yield changes.

Councilman John Zozzaro, an independent who ran with the Democratic Party, said landscapers are accustomed to restrictions from surrounding towns and believes that “machines will get quieter” as technology improves, causing fewer noise complaints. 

Municipalities are increasingly pushing for landscapers to embrace quieter electric blowers, but companies said the battery-powered devices don’t last as long and would force them to raise prices since jobs would take longer, Newsday reported.

Bans of gas-powered equipment have been staggered across Long Island and have proved difficult to enforce, officials said.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ