Thought you might all "enjoy" this

[Jacdanboy]

I work for local goverment, my job mostly involves ground maintenance in the summer, and snow removal in the winter, but I get stuck with some regulatory BS to.

I thought you would all like to see the "trouble" you cause

Check out this e-mail

Hello XXXX,

The issue at hand in XXX South is that professional lawn mowing crews are operating at an increasing rate in our neighborhoods- seven days a week from early AM to late PM. In addition to their mowing equipment, they utilize weedwhackers and leafblowers following their mowing. This has created an enormous amount of disturbing and unnecessary noise pollution in our neighborhoods.

I reviewed the noise ordinance in detail and it lists the highest permissible decibel as 67. There are leafblowers out there that emit between 70-100 decibels. Therefore, I interpet that as meaning that they would not be in compliance with the ordinance if being used by professional mowing crews.

The ordinance also lists a sound adjustment level for Sundays and legal holidays of -10 dba. This would mean that the highest permissible decible would be 57 on those days if I am interpreting it correctly.

We can't concern ourselves with occasional leafblower use but this is a daily problem. Perhaps the crews serving residential customers need to be informed of our decibel regulations.

Thanks XXXXX,


----- Original Message ----
From: XXX
To: XXX
Cc: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 8:56:01 AM
Subject: RE: SPAM:Interpreting Noise Ordinance


XXXX,

Sorry for the delayed response, your e-mail ended up in my junk e-mail which I do not check on a daily basis.

The frequency band or octave band is in simple terms the type of noise. More then likely a blower would fall under all of the frequency bands so they would all apply.

I think the noise ordinance as it exists would be very difficult to enforce against leaf blowers, especially taking into account the exclusion for temporary construction and demolition, and the fact that the ordinance requires the measurement of smooth and continuous noise.


XXXX


From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 2:06 PM
To: XXXX
Subject: SPAM:Interpreting Noise Ordinance


Hello XXX,

I am trying to interpret the regs of our noise ordinance as they pertain to permissible decibels in the residential zones in the township. Leafblowers emit anywhere from 65-100 plus decibels (300-1000 in volume approximately) when in use and I am trying to determine what our present ordinance allows in terms of decibels and volume.

I've reviewed the ordinance regs but do not know which frequency band cycles per second applies to the residential zone. I also read the stipulation re a 20 dba allowance over ambient sound levels for sounds of short duration.

Thank you,

XXXX




Needless to Say the last is not even getting a response.

[Wittapp]

Yes, we are trouble makers. Last week, I went back to the truck to put the trimmer up and was met by a police car. "Act like your getting yelled at, the neighbor called to complain about your truck being parked on the street again". Gotto love those neighbors who have no life
Dave in Dayton

[treegal1]

sounds like that hood needs some crickets, a big box of em........

[jkason]

Yes, we are trouble makers. Last week, I went back to the truck to put the trimmer up and was met by a police car. "Act like your getting yelled at, the neighbor called to complain about your truck being parked on the street again". Gotto love those neighbors who have no life
Dave in Dayton

You think that's bad....

Guy I know has an unlettered truck that he uses to do cleanups in the fall.
A resident of one of our more "snooty" towns (Greenwich, CT) called the police and had them tow his vehicle.

The cops don't care that he was working there, they made him pay $275 for the tow and $50 for storage (less than 1/2 a day).

How's that for a kick in the B@lls!

[ericmcj31]

I work for local goverment, my job mostly involves ground maintenance in the summer, and snow removal in the winter, but I get stuck with some regulatory BS to.

I thought you would all like to see the "trouble" you cause

Check out this e-mail

Hello XXXX,

The issue at hand in XXX South is that professional lawn mowing crews are operating at an increasing rate in our neighborhoods- seven days a week from early AM to late PM. In addition to their mowing equipment, they utilize weedwhackers and leafblowers following their mowing. This has created an enormous amount of disturbing and unnecessary noise pollution in our neighborhoods.

I reviewed the noise ordinance in detail and it lists the highest permissible decibel as 67. There are leafblowers out there that emit between 70-100 decibels. Therefore, I interpet that as meaning that they would not be in compliance with the ordinance if being used by professional mowing crews.

The ordinance also lists a sound adjustment level for Sundays and legal holidays of -10 dba. This would mean that the highest permissible decible would be 57 on those days if I am interpreting it correctly.

We can't concern ourselves with occasional leafblower use but this is a daily problem. Perhaps the crews serving residential customers need to be informed of our decibel regulations.

Thanks XXXXX,


----- Original Message ----
From: XXX
To: XXX
Cc: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 8:56:01 AM
Subject: RE: SPAM:Interpreting Noise Ordinance


XXXX,

Sorry for the delayed response, your e-mail ended up in my junk e-mail which I do not check on a daily basis.

The frequency band or octave band is in simple terms the type of noise. More then likely a blower would fall under all of the frequency bands so they would all apply.

I think the noise ordinance as it exists would be very difficult to enforce against leaf blowers, especially taking into account the exclusion for temporary construction and demolition, and the fact that the ordinance requires the measurement of smooth and continuous noise.


XXXX


From: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2008 2:06 PM
To: XXXX
Subject: SPAM:Interpreting Noise Ordinance


Hello XXX,

I am trying to interpret the regs of our noise ordinance as they pertain to permissible decibels in the residential zones in the township. Leafblowers emit anywhere from 65-100 plus decibels (300-1000 in volume approximately) when in use and I am trying to determine what our present ordinance allows in terms of decibels and volume.

I've reviewed the ordinance regs but do not know which frequency band cycles per second applies to the residential zone. I also read the stipulation re a 20 dba allowance over ambient sound levels for sounds of short duration.

Thank you,

XXXX




Needless to Say the last is not even getting a response.



Sounds like yet another BIG WASTE of our taxpayer's (paid) time. It would be nice if the pencil pushers would just stay in their office doing just that-pushing their pencil. It amazes me how people who have completely no clue try to tell someone who does know how to do theirs. :nono: I have these same kind of non-knowing "bosses" occaisionally-and it really drives me crazy.:hammerhead::hammerhead::hammerhead: I could understand if you're out there blasting your radios or squeeling off with your tires or something, but for God's sake you're freakin' working!!

[americanlawn]

We sat around here reviewing this particular post for awhile. Read it 3 times. All 4 of us (sittin' here in front of the screen) think the same thing.....folks working hard, paying taxes, and just trying to make a living trying to maintain a customer's lawn.

Susie homemaker/stay at home type can kiss our a$$. In our opinion. :usflag::canadaflag:

[Jason Rose]

Just a thought... Most OPE, including blowers have a max Db rating on them, but that Db level is measured at X feet from the source, and usually are for the OPERATOR exposure levels. Once you get 10, 20, 50, 100 feet from said equipment your measurable Db levels are going to be nill. Yes, you can HEAR the machines, but actual Db levels aren't even going to register. Now, if it's the neghibor complaining, and you never get more than say 50 feet from their house, then that's the distance the sound should be measured at. Just my opinion.

Overall, These people that worry about noise during the day when people are working, well they need to move out to the middle of nowhere so they can die in peace.

[Restrorob]

Hahaha.....Sounds like someone hasn't had any in a Looong time..... :dizzy:

[landscaper22]

Hahaha.....Sounds like someone hasn't had any in a Looong time..... :dizzy:

Yeah it is probably some tree hugging, conservative hating, large SUV driving, arrogant person (female most likely). :rolleyes:
Probably explains why she hasn't had any in awhile.

[Jacdanboy]

Yeah it is probably some tree hugging, conservative hating, large SUV driving, arrogant person (female most likely). :rolleyes:
Probably explains why she hasn't had any in awhile.

Hahaha.....Sounds like someone hasn't had any in a Looong time..... :dizzy:

You all figured out are theory, and the discription is perfect with one exception - No SUV, walks everywhere (and we are not a walkable community)

[landscaper22]

I was going to say bed wetting liberal, but I didn't want to get carried away. Yeah the big SUV's go against what they believe. They sort of contradict themselves when they drive them. But often those people still drive them because they have money and many didn't work for it. So, they don't mind spending it. THey just want to tell us how to spend ours. :hammerhead:

[razor1]

"Yeah it is probably some tree hugging, conservative hating",

Careful now, you just described some of our most beloved members, Green T, Philk, Wet Boots and a few others. :laugh:



Echo Inc. has been the leader in the effort to provide environmentally friendly leaf blowers. Today, Echo's "Quiet 1" is the benchmark to which all other manufacturers compare their new leaf blowers. It was the very first quiet leaf blower at 65 dB(A)1, which has been on the market since 1995. The design contains sound absorbing materials that have eliminated the whine typical of older blowers. A new concept muffler was introduced to lessen exhaust sounds and a patented sound attenuator was added to the air intake system. Even special plastics were employed to deaden any rattle that might be caused by engine vibration. The air impeller (fan) and cowling were redesigned to reduce airflow sound while maintaining top efficiency and performance.

[cmellen]

You think that's bad....

Guy I know has an unlettered truck that he uses to do cleanups in the fall.
A resident of one of our more "snooty" towns (Greenwich, CT) called the police and had them tow his vehicle.

The cops don't care that he was working there, they made him pay $275 for the tow and $50 for storage (less than 1/2 a day).

How's that for a kick in the B@lls!


(sigh) greenwich....dont you just love towns like that, i can easily picture that happening....theres alot of town around here that something like that would happen in, i cant stand people like that....

[Happy Frog]

Just a thought... Most OPE, including blowers have a max Db rating on them, but that Db level is measured at X feet from the source, and usually are for the OPERATOR exposure levels. Once you get 10, 20, 50, 100 feet from said equipment your measurable Db levels are going to be nill. Yes, you can HEAR the machines, but actual Db levels aren't even going to register. Now, if it's the neghibor complaining, and you never get more than say 50 feet from their house, then that's the distance the sound should be measured at. Just my opinion.

Overall, These people that worry about noise during the day when people are working, well they need to move out to the middle of nowhere so they can die in peace.

The Db rating of a blower is actually measured at 50 ft.
The operator is actually exposed to a much higher level of noise...

We should all discard our blower and use rakes instead...
I am going to tell my customers about the slight increase in price ($125.00) for after job clean up due to the time it will now take and make sure they know it is because of their neighbor, the a$$hole next door...
Leaf removal will go from $80 to $950 for a 1/4 acre lot as well...

[Jason Rose]

I always thought 69 decibels was a lot quieter than that... I guess that explains it! I wonder why they don't tell the actual decibel rating for the operator? To me that's the important one... And why I wear the "Max" earplugs that reduce the Db's by 32.

[topsites]

Before anyone goes off on me I'm just as guilty, I don't like regulation
and when a stupid muffler for a 5hp Honda costs 4 times more than
the exhaust on my car I have a tendency to lose my temper super quick, too.

But I'm not entirely disagreeing when from what I see myself few Lco's ever
appear to give a rat about the noise production, they just run their machines
and don't care who it might disturb, then when it does disturb someone they
thumb their noses at them with a general "so what" attitude.
And that would piss me off, too.

This whole thread for the most part merely confirms it, I see most workers unconcerned
with their equipment's noise levels, and when someone has any negative input towards this
these folks are told in no uncertain terms to "kiss ass."

So, the flip side of the coin doesn't surprise me.

We should all discard our blower and use rakes instead...

Then comes this...
From one extreme to the other, if one attempts a polite compromise
the answer is simple: there is no reasoning with these caretakers.
Of course, time is money, everyone always wants something for nothing and
here we're being asked to fork out thousands more for what, -5 db's?

When one tries to ask politely, they huff and puff.
Any increase in pressure results in far worse answers.
So ultimately one resorts to regulation, when nothing else works it
gets forcibly shoved down the throat.

To a point I almost sympathize with regulatory affairs,
if it were not for the fact that it results in even more expense
for even less performance with an efficiency that plain sucks.

But what can be done?

[LawnTamer]

I must say, some people have way too much time on their hands. Who cares if the lawn crews use blowers and trimmers, a crew is at any given property, what maybe 10-15min, once a week. So even if every one of your neighbors uses a lawn service, that might add up to an hour or 2 a week... Whoopty shiz.:confused:

BTW, these are the same people who would call to complain if the neighbor's lawn wasn't mowed regularly.

[Dirt Digger2]

hey Jacdanboy....i sent you a PM....i bet all the people down there complaining are the ones living in all those Megill homes..haha I think they might have built every development down there

whats down there...Misty Meadows, Pennwood, McDonald Run, Autumn Hill, Meadowcroft, etc...just to name a few

[Ramairfreak98ss]

well, although im in this business too... i do understand what a neighborhood would say.

You have guys come in at any time of the day from monday-sunday and mow lawns and make noise.

Ive seen mowing crews break out 2-3 mowers at a time, along with an edger guy and 1-2 trimmer guys, FIVE machines or more simutaniously would be most annoying for any neighbor.. it sounds like a freight train going through next door.

Along with this, if you have a big/compact development like in NJ, in any given house, if most get their lawns cut by commercial guys like us, have noise that is heard probably MANy hours a week combined together.

In my own town, there are some non name joes who have a TON of mowing junk on a big trailer with an unmarked truck, they have MOST of the little crap properties in pemberton, NJ, gas stations, cemetaries, dunkin donuts, burger king and so on... they've been running TWO loud blowers at 10:15pm in September of this year! I actually had to walk down the street to find out which company was going at it after 10pm! These guys kill me. What makes it worse, is that they do everything for next to nothing. Ive spoken to a couple of the businesses only a few hundred feet down the road from us, and some are paying $25 a week for lawn mowing of the gas station and that includes pulling weeds in the bed! Another is not profitable at all and the third they wanted a quote and i wouldnt even bother offering one after i found out this other company cut it.

One of our trucks is probably worth more than this whole company, and they have probably 100+ accounts, i guess when you make nothing per account, you cant grow as a business. They always stare at us when we roll down the street.... cant wait till we get the new tractor :p

[Runner]

I not only concur with Ramair's post, but would like to add to it, as well. We, as professionals, need to CONTROL alot of what we do. It is up to US to regulate our own industry before more things get to the point where they are totally out of our hands with regulations. Being concientious and aware of neighbors, the public in general, and our surroundings is what alot more of us NEED to do. All too often I see these hum-drums grab a blower, and walk up the driveway full blast to blow of clippings that are spaced a foot apart. The stuff is so light that the blower could about do it on idle, but no...these guys have to just fire them right up. A little planning and care goes a long way. The experienced guys actually use the blower,...moviong the hose and WORKING the thing. Some guys though,...just sort of stand there and let the blower do all the work...slow strokes, and walking back and forth forward and backward. - rather than working it more like a plow. Anyway, more of us are experiencing local noise ordinances that are literally BANNING blowers in certain areas and at certain times. we, as an industry as a whole, need to start taking a proactive stance in taking more care to avoid future limitations on us. Not only that, but we ARE helping out our environment by keeping it down when possible, as well.