[NOTE: The following is being published on the BAHOA website, sent to the BAHOA email list and posted on Bayside Acres NextDoor for widest dissemination within the Bayside Acres subdivision.]
Some residents of Bayside Acres have brought an issue related to loud gardening equipment, especially leaf blowers, to the attention of the Bayside Acres HOA Board for discussion. The issue, of course, is the noise generated by these machines (leaf blowers, lawnmowers, weed whackers, etc.), especially at certain hours of the day. Reaction to the use of such equipment is quite varied among our residents. The Board has discussed this issue informally.
The City of San Rafael and the County of Marin do have noise ordinances regarding volume, hours of the day as well as holiday and weekend days. However, these ordinances are fairly lax, lightly enforced and really do not address the concerns of some of our residents. While some municipalities have imposed bans or severe limitations on leaf blowers in particular, that is not the case for Marin County or San Rafael. This issue is, also, perceived differently in different areas of our subdivision where the lot sizes are larger, houses are more spread out and use of loud gardening equipment is more prevalent, either by the residents or by hired gardeners.
The Bayside Acres HOA, as a voluntary organization, has no authority to impose any restrictions beyond what is dictated by local ordinances. That said, we are a community and we should be aware, and considerate, of the concerns of our neighbors and respectful of their tranquility. As such, we urge our residents, to the extent possible, to adhere to some limitations in order to minimize the noise disruption from the use of loud gardening equipment. We suggest for your consideration that these devices be limited, to the extent possible, as follows:
- Consider substituting the use of loud gardening equipment in favor of less noisy ones (raking, sweeping, electric leaf blowers, etc.). This is a trending topic on NextDoor.
- When using loud equipment, limit use to between the hours of 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
- If possible, avoid weekends and holidays (for some it may not be possible).
- Keep the duration of any single use to under two hours (preferably one hour).
While these are only guidelines, they are put forth as a compromise among the various interests in our community. We ask this as a courtesy to promote good relations among our neighbors.
Thank you for your consideration,
The Bayside Acres HOA Board of Directors