A win at the Township Council!
Last night, the Township Council took a major step forward in the effort to reduce the use of gas leaf blowers in Montclair!
In a 5-2 vote, the Council moved an updated ordinance forward and will take a final vote on passage at its next meeting, on February 16.
Council members voting in favor of the stronger ordinance were Lori Price Abrams, Robert Russo, Robin Schlager, Sean Spiller, and Peter Yacobellis. Councilors voting against were David Cummings and Bill Hurlock.
Thank you to everyone who sent an email and/or called in to the meeting to make a public comment — your words made a difference!
If passed on final reading February 16, the updated ordinance will:
Reduce the times of the year gas leaf blower use is allowed, from more than half the year to two months in spring (March 15 to May 15) and two months in fall (October 15 to December 15).
Require gas leaf blower operators to start an hour later on most days (9 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on Saturdays).
Require landscapers to ensure their employees are properly equipped to protect their health when using gas leaf blowers.
Set a minimum fine of $100 for violations.
The remainder of the law will remain unchanged.
Let's send some positive feedback.
Efforts to defeat common-sense restrictions on gas leaf blower use have stopped many municipal bodies from taking action on this issue, in New Jersey and elsewhere. We hope you will join us in contacting the 5 councilors who voted "yes" on this week's first reading to thank them for their votes and encourage them to do it again to achieve final passage on February 16:
All residents: Mayor Sean Spiller (sspiller@montclairnjusa.org)
All residents: Robert Russo (rrusso@montclairnjusa.org)
All residents: Peter Yacobellis (pyacobellis@montclairnjusa.org)
Ward 2: Robin Schlager (rschlager@montclairnjusa.org)
Ward 3: Lori Price Abrams (lpriceabrams@montclairnjusa.org)
If you don't know your ward, you can find it here.