The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Residents speak out on noise issues Input will be added to study By JUSTIN BERTON Sunnyvale residents at a Nov. 24 public forum called leaf blowers loud, obnoxious and inefficient. But few said they should be banned altogether. More than 40 residents and city officials--including a few leaf blower political groupies from neighboring cities--participated in the forum, which is part of the city's review of its current noise ordinance. A small but determined group of residents also attended the meeting to make city officials aware of the public address systems used by auto dealerships along El Camino Real. Director of Community Development David Boesch said the noise abatement study, which will include a recommendation to the City Council on what to do about the high-powered gardening tools, will be completed in February. Councilmember Julia Miller, who has taken a leadership position on the noise issue, said the forum was necessary in order to gauge public opinion about noise and the quality of life in Sunnyvale. "Hopefully, staff took some good notes and it will help give the council solid recommendations," she said after the meeting.Councilmember Fred Fowler and vice mayor Pat Vorreiter also attended the forum, which was broadcast on KSUN. Though most speakers strayed from calling for a complete ban on leaf blowers, a few residents said the tools were devastating to the quaint charm of the city, and should be removed. "I feel like I'm going nuts," said Carol Lewis, who also works in the city. Lewis said when she is at work, oftentimes leaf blowers outside her window will force her to return home where she can work in peace. But on a few occasions, she said, she has returned home only to be inundated with more noise from leaf blowers. "I feel like I can't sleep or function," Lewis said. Lewis added that if a ban cannot be implemented, a time and use restriction will be needed. The idea already has the support of at least one councilmember. "I'm not going for a ban," Miller said. "This is a quality-of-life issue. I'm hoping my colleagues will support a restriction, particularly on the weekends." As it stands now, leaf blowers and other powered equipment are permitted to operate in Sunnyvale between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily. Many speakers at the forum called for regular working hours, with restrictions on weekends and holidays. Jim Lincoln, a resident of 29 years and avid leaf blower opponent, said the issue is not only about noise, but health as well. "I would like to see the dirt and the debris that gets kicked up into the air cease," he said. "And I don't see that happening without a total ban." The issue of leaf blowers has been contested up and down the state, especially in the Bay Area. Don Howard, who said he's been "hopping around city to city" to lobby against all-out bans, said changes in the manufacturing of leaf blowers have created quieter tools. "In the past, the industry produced some obnoxious machines. But now, they've changed," he said. The forum included a brief demonstration of three types of leaf blowers. As participants sat inside the chambers, an assistant revved up the machines outside, drawing complaints from both sides. Proponents of leaf blowers said an indoor demonstration would unfairly increase the true decibel reading, while opponents said the tools were distant, and purposely not turned to full throttle. Boesch admitted the demonstration "didn't quite work as we had hoped." Myra Orta, a Los Altos resident who boasted, "I'm the person who was instrumental in achieving the ban [in Los Altos]," said she hoped the ongoing debate on the issue would remain civil. "I really hope it doesn't happen in Sunnyvale. What happened in Menlo Park, it was a disgrace. If that's going to happen here, then I feel sorry for you." One gardener and resident of Sunnyvale said residents should remain focused on the best interests of Sunnyvale. "This is a Sunnyvale matter," he said. "Not here or there, not anywhere but here. We should all be able to come together as our community to work along [with one another]." Though the majority of meeting-goers spoke about leaf blowers, a small group of Sunnyvale residents asked the city to help them eliminate another form of excessive noise: the public announcement systems at the car dealerships along El Camino Real. Residents who live near the auto dealerships said the outdoor paging systems can be heard from their homes. The residents suggested the dealerships could use waistband pagers, such as those worn by food servers at restaurants. The pager would vibrate if an employee was needed. Tom Foss, the general manager of Sunnyvale Toyota, said the pager system seemed like a good idea. "We would do anything to make it better," he said. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 2, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.