New Canaan panel backs Bristol grant search, hears leaf blower data

Conservation · Meeting of April 9, 2026

New Canaan Conservation Commission backs Bristol Preserve invasive-species grant, hears leaf blower health data. The commission voted unanimously to let the New Canaan Land Trust seek grant funding for a contractor to clear invasive Japanese barberry at the Bristol Preserve, tying volunteers to the town's grant writer, Greg Riley. Mount Sinai researcher Dr.

Sarah Evans told the panel Fairfield County lawn and garden equipment produces particulate pollution equivalent to roughly 1.3 million cars annually and that the county received an F grade for ozone in the latest American Lung Association report. "An hour of a backpack leaf blower is as polluting as driving a sedan for 15 hours, or 1,100 miles," Evans said. The commission is awaiting word from the Charter Revision Commission on proposed leaf blower regulation language and approved its March 12 minutes and a swap shop staffing plan to manage rising non-resident use.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,100 words

Source: the Conservation meeting of April 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — April 9, 2026 — The New Canaan Conservation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to support a land trust request for grant funding to remove invasive plants at the Bristol Preserve, then devoted most of its meeting to a Mount Sinai researcher's presentation on the health effects of gas-powered leaf blowers as the town considers new restrictions.

Commission member Ann Silva, who presided over the meeting, opened by noting Susan Schwitzer was absent. Members approved a motion to reorder the agenda so guest speaker Dr. Sarah Evans could present earlier, then unanimously authorized the town's land trust to pursue grant funding for a contractor to clear invasive Japanese barberry at Bristol.

The Full Story

The commission opened with a Bristol Preserve update relayed on behalf of Robin, a land trust liaison who could not attend. Land trust volunteers Walter Saul and John Seal are cutting invasive vines at the preserve, and the land trust plans a volunteer cleanup day on April 23. Members noted the Japanese barberry at the site attracts ticks and voted to let the land trust seek grant funding for a contractor to address it, agreeing to connect the group with the town's grant writer, Greg Riley.

Tiger, who gives the commission's regular transfer station and tree updates, reported the town is entering "budbreak" on the roughly 40 trees planted along South Avenue as replacements under warranty, with the tree warden and Bill Pollock, of Keith Simpson's office, inspecting them soon. About six additional trees were planted at Waveny as replacements for ones that died, and the town has a bid out for another 40 to 50 trees and shrubs to be planted around town pending Board of Selectmen approval.

On the transfer station, Tiger said the town is now tracking monthly waste volumes for municipal solid waste, recycling, brush and construction debris, with data updated through March and financial figures to follow. Bids go out this week for new three-year hauling contracts in each category, running from July 1 through the current contracts' expiration June 30. The hazardous waste contract, handled through the Western Council of Governments with five other towns, was extended one year and is expected to move to a new five-year term starting in 2027. The next household hazardous waste collection is in September; a shred day is set for April 25.

Tiger also said the transfer station's swap shop has seen a surge in use this spring, including visits from non-residents, and is working with Planet New Canaan to pay a town employee to staff the shop on Saturdays and confirm residency. Separately, Tiger said a decline in municipal solid waste volume appears tied to consolidation among private trash haulers rather than a shift of organic waste elsewhere.

The commission then heard from Dr. Sarah Evans, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and a member of the Institute for Exposomic Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Evans said two-stroke engines used in gas-powered leaf blowers release up to 30 percent of their fuel unburned and produce carcinogens and particulate matter. She cited California analyses finding an hour of use from a backpack leaf blower pollutes as much as driving a sedan for 15 hours, or 1,100 miles. Citing Environment America and Public Interest Research Group data, Evans said lawn and garden equipment in Fairfield County produces particulate matter equivalent to roughly 1.3 million cars annually. She said the American Lung Association's most recent State of the Air report gave Fairfield County an F grade for ozone and a D for 24-hour particulate pollution.

"An hour of a backpack leaf blower is as polluting as driving a sedan for 15 hours, or 1,100 miles," Evans said, describing the state of California's comparison.

Evans also addressed noise, saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses leaf blower noise, at roughly 90 decibels, as its benchmark for the exposure level that can cause hearing damage after two hours.

"Leaf blowers are the poster child here for the CDC for being at that level at which hearing damage can occur," Evans said.

Silva reacted to the 1.3 million car comparison for Fairfield County.

"That's astounding," Silva said.

Evans told the commission outright bans on gas-powered leaf blowers remain rare among municipalities, which more commonly adopt seasonal restrictions or limits tied to property size, with enforcement the biggest obstacle. She said air pollutants from the equipment can exacerbate childhood asthma and that a national study attributed 1,400 of 100,000 particulate-matter deaths to lawn and garden equipment.

On the commission's separate push to add leaf blower authority to the town charter, Silva said she has been in contact with Jennifer Holm and that Kathleen Corbett and the Charter Revision Commission have the commission's proposed edits. Silva said she hopes to have Holm attend the commission's May 14 meeting to explain the difference between charter article changes and ordinance changes.

In new business, member Tom Herman said he has been contacted about a company proposing electric vehicle chargers in town and asked to follow up. Members also discussed a state mobile well water testing event, with dates of May 2 or May 9 at the farmers market and a $235 per-sample fee, pending confirmation of a single date from Schwitzer. The commission voted unanimously to approve the March 12 meeting minutes.

Why It Matters

The commission's request to the Charter Revision Commission to add leaf blower regulation authority is moving toward a decision point, with a status update expected from Jennifer Holm at the May 14 meeting. Thursday's presentation, showing Fairfield County's F grade for ozone and an estimated 1.3 million cars' worth of particulate emissions from local lawn equipment, is intended to build the public case for restrictions similar to those adopted in Portland, Oregon, and other Fairfield County-area towns.

Residents should also expect changes at the transfer station's swap shop, where staffing on Saturdays will begin to verify New Canaan residency amid a rise in non-resident use. Homeowners interested in the state's mobile well water testing should watch for confirmation of either the May 2 or May 9 date, at $235 per sample.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Reorder meeting agenda to move guest speaker presentation earlier Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Authorize land trust to seek grant funding for a contractor to remove invasive Japanese barberry at Bristol Preserve Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve minutes of the March 12 meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Conservation Commission meeting, April 9, 2026