About the Campaign
At the Fall 2021 Special Town Meeting on November 18th, 85% of Lexington's Town Meeting members voted to approve a new bylaw (Article 10) to protect residents and landscape workers from the illegal, disruptive, and damaging noise and highly toxic pollution created by gas-powered leaf blowers.
Article 10 was unanimously supported by the Lexington Board of Health and the Sustainable Lexington Committee.
The new bylaw defines the hours when landscape maintenance equipment may be operated, establishes seasonal limitations on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers (GLBs) until 2025, and prohibits the use of most GLBs by commercial landscaping contractors and the Town as of March 2025 and by residents one year later. The new bylaw does not prohibit the use of any landscape maintenance equipment other than GLBs.
Opponents of the new bylaw submitted the necessary signatures to hold a referendum seeking to overturn the Town Meeting vote. This referendum will be held on March 7, 2022 as part of the Town’s annual local elections. A “Yes” vote on the referendum will uphold Town Meeting’s vote.
We believe that the bylaw -- overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting -- is necessary to:
protect residents and workers from disruptive and harmful noise;
protect the health of workers and residents; and
reduce harmful pollution.
We urge you to vote “Yes” on Question One to uphold Town Meeting’s vote.