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Providence Noise Project News
"Noise is the New Smoking"
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Public Hearing on Leafblowers Re-Scheduled for Nov. 3
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The members of the Providence City Council representing the East Side — John Goncalves, Helen Anthony, and recently-announced 2022 mayoral candidate Nirva LaFortune — have responded to complaints about leafblower noise by seeking to amend the current noise-control ordinance governing "machinery, equipment, fans, air-conditioners, and leafblowers" (Sec. 16-97).
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Their amendment removes leafblowers from the broader category of noise-making equipment and puts them in their own section of the city's municipal code, as follows:
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Sec. 16-100. Leaf Blowers
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to use, at any time, a leafblower within any residential zone that has an average sound level exceeding seventy (70) dBA measured at or within the real property boundary of a receiving land use or when the same is audible to a person of reasonably sensitive hearing at a distance of two hundred (200) feet from its source.
(b) Leafblowers shall not be operated within the city between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.
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The Providence Noise Project supports the amendment, and urges Providence residents who want to reduce noise in the city to attend the meeting to show their support for it — even if leafblowers are not a big source of noise in your neighborhood. It’s important to use every opportunity we have to communicate to members of the City Council that residents want the city government to do more to reduce excessive, unnecessary, and unhealthy noise that's been rampant in the city for too long.
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There are indications that opponents of the amendment will be attending the meeting to speak against it, and our in-person presence will help to counterbalance theirs. If you cannot attend the hearing in person, there will be a video stream to allow remote viewing of the proceedings, but this is not a “virtual” hearing, and no public testimony will be allowed via video. We therefore urge those who can attend and speak in favor of the amendments to please do so.
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If you cannot attend the hearing in person, please contact your City Council member directly to communicate your support for the amendments — and “courtesy copy” (or “cc”) the City Council as whole at council@providenceri.gov. And please pass this e-mail on to your friends, neighbors, family, and colleagues and ask them to attend the hearing or otherwise communicate their support for the leafblower amendment.
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Among the reasons to limit gas-powered leafblower noise levels and times of use that supporters may want to mention at the public hearing or in an e-mail or call to City Council members are:
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- Gas-powered leafblowers produce toxic gases, particulates, and levels of noise that are unhealthy for their operators and those nearby. Most landscaping workers don't wear proper masks or hearing protection and can suffer permanent health effects from their jobs.
- The emissions from leafblowers’ inefficient two-stroke motors are proportionately more damaging to the environment than car and truck exhausts. If we're serious about addressing climate change, these and other small-engine emissions must be reduced.
- Noise levels from gas-powered leafblowers already violate the existing Providence municipal code — and in some neighborhoods are among the biggest sources of noise — but are rarely cited for it. We can’t reduce excessive noise in the city without addressing loud landscaping equipment.
- The transition to electric-powered landscaping equipment is inevitable and already under way all over the country. An increasing number of jurisdictions, including the entire state of California, have either already banned or limited the use of gas-powered leafblowers or are in the process of doing so. Both Providence and the state of Rhode Island will inevitably do so too, so why not get ahead of the curve for once and enjoy the benefits of safer equipment, cleaner air, and better health and quality-of-life for everyone even sooner?
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Those are a few of the most important reasons to regulate gas-powered leafblowers, but hardly the only justifications for doing so. For more information, visit the Noise Project’s Resources page. And if you have questions or comments about the proposed leafblower amendments, the upcoming public hearing, or leafblowers in general, please feel free to contact us.
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If you're interested in getting involved in reducing noise and other negative effects of gas-powered leafblowers, please consider joining the Noise Projects’ newly-formed Leafblower Committee.
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We welcome your thoughts / ideas on noise issues or the Project itself via the Contact page on PNP's website
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If you'd like to volunteer your time or expertise to help address noise in Providence, please feel free to contact us
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