Noise Reduction Measures Taken

The Manhattan Beach City Council is moving to control noise by reducing the hours during which construction may be done and restricting the use of leaf blowers in residential areas. The council may also hire a consultant to revise the city noise ordinance, which officials say contains standards based on noise measurements that are difficult to enforce.

At a public hearing Tuesday, residents complained of being awakened early by leaf blowers and eating breakfast to the sound of hammers and saws. The council called for an ordinance limiting construction to between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and holidays. The use of leaf blowers in residential areas would be limited to hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. The measure would also eliminate required acoustical studies for private spas, instead calling for the studies on a case-by-case basis.

The council is expected to vote on the proposal Feb. 20.

The council rejected recommendations by the city Board of Zoning Adjustment, which held hearings on the noise problem last year, to ban leaf blowers throughout the city and prohibit construction on Sundays and holidays. Several parking-lot maintenance workers and gardeners told the council that leaf blowers are tools of their trade and said quieter models are eliminating noise problems.