Swampscott overturns ban on leaf blowers

SWAMPSCOTT – The leaf blower ban was overturned on the second day of the Annual Town Meeting after voters and landscapers found their voice to speak out against the ban.Member Martin Goldman called for a reconsideration of the ban in the first few minutes of Tuesday?s meeting to overturn the 124 to 121 vote made on Monday. The ban would have prohibited private use of gas leaf blowers in Swampscott except between March 15 and May 15, and Sept. 15 and Dec. 15.Goldman accused the Board of Health and advocates of the ban of using “scare tactics” and falsely linking cancer to the particulates of fecal matter and dust blown up into the air from the blowers. He pointed to the flaws of the ban, including the 15 percent cost increase for landscaping services and its limitation to residential use.?Apparently it?s okay for fecal matter to be blown around shopping centers in Swampscott but not residential areas,” said Goldman.Goldman?s call for reconsideration led the way for several other members of the community, including landscaping business owner Matthew Leahy, who said new engines that are used are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.Meeting member Charles Patsios pointed out that athletes and children playing on public fields were at the most risk of the blowers, and yet they would still be subject to the particulate matter.Meeting member Tom Driscoll received whistles and applause in approval of his statement at the podium in regards to the extremes of banning gas-powered motors.?Is this issue really about gas emissions? Then let?s get rid of snow blowers and stop having boats in the harbor,” he said. “It?s all or nothing. If you don?t want gas motors, put a ban on gas motors.”Driscoll said he traded in his gas-powered blower for an electric blower, allowed within the ban, and said it “kicks up dust like you?ve never seen.”Though Dr. Lawrence Block, a member of the Board of Health, attempted to keep the ban in place, voters overturned the vote with such a majority that counters were unnecessary.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].