DARIEN, CT — The town of Darien is considering creating a noise ordinance in light of complaints from residents ranging from construction sites to gas-powered leaf blowers.
First Selectman Monica McNally brought the idea forward during last week’s regularly scheduled Board of Selectmen meeting to gauge interest in crafting a policy, and her colleagues agreed it was worth looking into. The board took no action and will revisit the item at future meetings.
McNally explained that her office has received noise complaints related to passing trains, church bells, garbage trucks and even the shooting range.
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“I’ve thought because we’ve had a number of different types of complaints from residents as well as some pretty repetitive on leaf blowers, that we should take a look at this,” McNally said.
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Darien currently follows state statutes on noise, which are “pretty broad,” according to Town Administrator Kate Buch.
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Buch compiled a list of different Fairfield County towns that have adopted their own noise ordinances.
Most of the policies specify which noises are acceptable between certain time frames during the day, and they also outline noises that are never allowed, Buch explained.
Buch told the board they would have to think about who would enforce such an ordinance, and she noted that any policy would ultimately have to be approved by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Greenwich adopted a policy in 1984, New Canaan in 2006, and most recently Westport implemented a noise ordinance specifically for leaf blowers in May of this year, McNally added.
McNally said Westport is limiting hours of operation for gas-powered leaf blowers, and that next year, the equipment won’t be allowed during the warmer months from May 15 through Oct. 15.
“There’s a variety of ways to look at this,” McNally said. “Probably the easiest would be instead of restricting by the type [of noise], we restrict by the hours, and that’s I think what we see a lot. The other big part is enforcement, and that’s always tricky.”
Selectman Michael Burke offered support in looking into a policy for Darien.
“I think we should look hard at these other ordinances and see how they mesh with the complaints that we’re getting,” Burke said. “I think it’s worthy of a review, but I think we’re still a number of steps away in figuring out if there’s something we can craft that will be helpful and enforceable. Because if it’s neither of those two, there’s really no point.”
Fellow Selectman Sarah Neumann agreed, and specifically mentioned complaints she’s heard about garbage trucks making their rounds early in the morning before sunrise.
“Trucks that are coming at 5 or 6 in the morning in the dark, I think that’s difficult for neighbors. That’s not fair,” Neumann said.
Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said he wanted more details on resident complaints that have come in. Marcy Minnick also expressed support for an ordinance and reminded her colleagues to consider how any policy would affect businesses.
“I think we need to be sensitive to all parties on this as we move forward,” Minnick said.
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