Conservation Commission endorses seasonal gas leaf blower ban

Conservation · Meeting of March 12, 2026

New Canaan Conservation Commission unanimously endorses seasonal gas leaf blower ban. Commission member John Matusik told the panel the bylaws and ordinance committee approved the draft 5-2 before sending it to the Town Council, calling it "a compromise between people who are for and people who are against." The proposal would bar gas-powered blowers from Memorial Day to Labor Day, mirroring restrictions already moving forward in Greenwich, Pound Ridge, Norwalk, Stamford and Westport. Commissioners flagged a drafting gap that fails to cover gas-powered push blowers and asked Matusik to raise it at the council hearing.

The commission also created a Charter Revision Committee under Chair Tom Cronin and Tom Herman, and an Open Space Conservation and Land Bank Exploration Committee to study conveyance-tax-style funding for future land purchases, citing lost opportunities on the former water company property and a Silvermine parcel.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 933 words

Source: the Conservation meeting of March 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — March 12, 2026 — The New Canaan Conservation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to endorse a draft ordinance that would ban gas-powered leaf blowers townwide from Memorial Day to Labor Day, sending the measure toward the Town Council with a request that drafters close a loophole for gas-powered push blowers before final action.

Commission Chair Tom Cronin, who opened the meeting at 12:06 p.m., presided over a session that also created two new subcommittees, one to rewrite the commission's charter and another to explore long-term funding mechanisms, including a possible conveyance-tax set-aside, for buying open space in town.

The Full Story

The leaf blower ordinance was drafted by the town's bylaws and ordinance committee, which endorsed it on a 5-2 vote before referring it to the Town Council. Commission member John Matusik, who has followed the effort closely, told the commission the proposal is deliberately narrow: a seasonal restriction on gas-powered backpack blowers, with carve-outs for electric equipment and for residents using their own blowers on their own property. He said the town has not yet scheduled the Town Council hearing.

Matusik told commissioners that several neighboring communities, including Greenwich, Pound Ridge, Norwalk and Stamford, have adopted or are close to adopting similar restrictions, and that Westport is expected to follow. He credited former commission members Linda Andros and Chris Shipper, who chaired the commission at the time, with first raising the issue with the town's ordinance committee roughly three to four years ago.

Commissioners flagged two drafting problems they want fixed before the ordinance reaches a final vote: the current language does not clearly cover gas-powered push blowers, which several members said landscapers could simply substitute for backpack models, and the permitted operating hours for electric blowers are inconsistently stated. One commissioner also raised, without a formal recommendation, whether the ordinance should cap the number of blowers a landscaping crew can run simultaneously, citing noise and particulate concerns on larger properties. Matusik said he plans to attend the Town Council meeting to press for the push-blower fix.

The commission also voted to establish a charter revision committee, led by Cronin and Tom Herman, to bring the commission's governing articles in line with state statute and to model the article structure used by other town commissions. Cronin said the committee expects to work through roughly September and will report back to the full commission regularly.

A second new body, the Open Space Conservation and Land Bank Exploration Committee, will study ways to fund future open-space purchases beyond the town's existing land acquisition fund. Cronin cited Nantucket's land bank, funded through a percentage fee on real estate transfers, as a possible model, and pointed to two recent instances, the former water company property and a Silvermine parcel later acquired by the New Canaan Land Trust, where he said the town lost the chance to act because it had no dedicated funding in place.

Tiger, who oversees the town's transfer station and coordinates maintenance at the Bristow Preserve, reported that food scrap recycling in the elementary schools has diverted roughly 35,000 pounds of material so far, funded currently by the nonprofit Planet New Canaan, with an expansion to West School under discussion. He also told commissioners the town plans to seek competitive bids for its food scrap hauling contract and is preparing an annual wetland maintenance permit for dredging the Bristow pond and adjoining stream.

The commission approved the minutes of its February 12 meeting without discussion.

"An hour of running a two-stroke engine is the same as driving an SUV a thousand miles in terms of air pollution." — John Matusik, Conservation Commission member

"It's in my opinion a compromise between people who are for and people who are against, and I think it's a good first step." — John Matusik, Conservation Commission member

"We really don't have a mechanism beyond the land acquisition fund, which is not a perfect mechanism." — Tom Cronin, Conservation Commission Chair

Why It Matters

If the Town Council adopts the ordinance largely as drafted, New Canaan would join a growing list of Fairfield County towns restricting gas-powered leaf blowers during the summer months, a shift commissioners said could push landscaping crews that already comply with bans in neighboring towns to switch equipment townwide rather than maintain two sets of machines. The commission's push to close the push-blower loophole before a council vote could shape how much the ordinance actually reduces noise and emissions on the ground.

The new land bank exploration committee addresses a longer-running problem for the commission: the town has repeatedly been unable to act quickly when open space or conservation land came up for sale because no dedicated funding source existed. Any recommendation from that committee would still need Town Council approval before New Canaan could adopt a mechanism like a conveyance-tax set-aside.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Amend meeting agenda to move leaf blower ordinance discussion to item seven Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve minutes of the February 12, 2026 regular meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Endorse draft townwide ordinance restricting gas-powered leaf blowers, with commission comments on drafting errors to be delivered to the Town Council Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Establish a Charter Revision Committee to review and recommend changes to the commission's charter articles Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Establish an Open Space Conservation and Land Bank Exploration Committee to study open space funding mechanisms Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Adjourn the meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Conservation Commission meeting, March 12, 2026