In an open letter to MyRye.com, Pine Island Road resident and former Rye Mayor Ted Dunn (1994 – 1997) cautions the new council against the gas leaf blower ban, saying it should use its mandate sparingly.
Dunn’s letter:
A Few Thoughts on Leaf Blowers
1994
That Council heard from both sides, Public Hearings and Citizens to be Heard, not on the Agenda, the same arguments as this year. When reasonable citizens disagree, that Council decided not to change the existing practice. It suggested that unhappy home-owners talk with their neighbors in the event of a problem.
There is, I believe, wide-spread agreement that trees are good. We celebrate Arbor Day. The last Council passed a law to protect against unnecessary cutting. A few years ago there was a successful campaign by residents to finance the planting street trees. Deciduous trees come with leaves, some even with flowers. To home owners, the proposed ban is ‘tree unfriendly’.
To be elected is to be given a mandate. Perhaps wisdom is on the side of using it sparingly, particularly at the outset. Rye is a place we all choose to live in, even with the existing law.
Ted Dunn
City Council 1992 – 93
Mayor 1994 – 97
