By Sentinel Staff
New Canaan’s summer restriction on gas-powered leaf blowers will remain in force after voters rejected the ordinance by a majority but failed to meet the Town Charter’s separate numerical threshold for repeal.
Results from the July 25 referendum show 2,504 ballots cast. Of those, 1,471 voters, or 59 percent, voted “no” to overturn the ordinance, while 1,033 voters, or 41 percent, voted “yes” to uphold it. The vote drew about 17 percent of New Canaan’s 14,526 registered electors.
The charter required repeal supporters to win both a majority of ballots cast and “no” votes equal to at least 15 percent of the electorate. The town placed that threshold at 2,179 votes. Opponents finished about 700 votes below it, leaving the Town Council’s action intact despite prevailing at the polls.
In-person voting at New Canaan High School produced 970 votes against the ordinance and 628 in support. Absentee ballots produced 493 votes against the ordinance and 402 in support. Eleven hand-counted ballots added eight votes against and three in support.
The referendum followed a petition campaign launched after the May vote. Organizers first filed the required notice containing 50 signatures, then collected more than the 701 valid signatures needed to force a townwide ballot under the Town Charter. The Town Clerk’s office verified more than 750 registered voters. The ordinance remained paused while the referendum process proceeded, then took effect after the repeal effort failed on Saturday.
The ordinance, approved by the Town Council 8-4 on May 20, prohibits most use of gas-powered leaf blowers between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It permits their use during the fall cleanup season and includes exemptions for emergencies, storm cleanup, Department of Public Works operations and residents using the machines on hard or manufactured surfaces.
The result settled the ordinance’s legal status but did not end the political argument surrounding it. Letters submitted to the Sentinel after the referendum focused on the gap between the majority vote and the charter threshold, the difficulty of organizing and voting during summer, and whether the council should revise the regulation before its next summer season.
Eric Thunem, a Town Council member writing as a private citizen, said the vote should guide any future amendments. “The results clearly show that at least 10% of New Canaan’s registered voters (1,471 out of 14,526) wanted the ordinance repealed,” he wrote.
Thunem also renewed objections raised before the council vote, including the ordinance’s application across properties of different sizes, its implementation schedule, costs for landscaping businesses and homeowners, exemptions for municipal work, enforcement challenges and the prospect of residents reporting neighbors.
Another letter submitted after the vote argued that the referendum schedule limited participation. It cited the compressed petition timetable, the time needed to verify signatures, in-person absentee voting during Town Clerk office hours and a single Saturday polling period from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The writer called for a review of referendum procedures and urged council members to consider the 59 percent vote against the ordinance.
Supporters have described the seasonal restriction as a measured response to noise, emissions and summer quality-of-life complaints. Before the referendum, Town Council Chairman Hilary Ormond said, “My hope is that we can all enjoy quieter summers and fresher, healthier air.”
The ordinance remains in force, but the referendum’s 59 percent opposition guarantees that New Canaan’s debate is far from settled. Council members now face competing readings of the same result: the measure survived the charter test, while most participating voters asked that it be overturned.
The Town Clerk’s office characterized the proposition as failed because the “no” vote did not cross the 15 percent threshold. The referendum totals remained listed as unofficial this week.
Implementation questions may return again before next summer’s restriction begins.
