No more blasting Ozzie Osbourne from a boombox on a jobsite. No more running gas leaf blowers from 6:30 a.m. until 9 at night. And absolutely no mowing or landscaping of any kind on Sundays. If you break any of these rules, all a complainant has to do is call an 800 number to report you.
The East Hampton Village Board in East Hampton, NY, is now working on implementing these rules after debating them at a recent board meeting. The chief objective is to limit noise on construction and landscaping jobsites. To the board’s credit, they have listened to concerns and advice from both landscape contractors and equipment dealers in an effort to craft sensible legislation.
Here’s a summary of the major rules that would impact landscaping work:
- 7 a.m. start time OK’d after originally proposing 9 a.m.
- However, no gas- or diesel-powered equipment can be used before 8 a.m. from June 1 through the second Friday in December
- Work must be stopped by 6 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. on Saturdays, no work allowed on Sundays
- These time restrictions in effect starting on June 1 after original proposal said May 15
- No radios on worksites
Kathy Cunningham, speaking on behalf of the Village Preservation Society, told the board that homeowners have to do their part in policing the noise issue. "This can only work collaboratively if there's a functioning hotline, and homeowners need to understand that they need to hire contractors that are observing these rules and regulations."
"We'll go through the mechanics to get that in place," Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. said of the telephone hotline, "and to make appropriate notification to the public."
