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Naperville unlikely to reduce lawn-mowing hours

A push to place additional restrictions on the hours when commercial crews can mow residential lawns in Naperville likely will be scuttled after members of a city panel expressed concerns about "overregulation."

Naperville currently allows both residents and contractors to mow lawns from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

But after receiving complaints from a handful of residents about lawn crews stating their work too early on the weekends, the city proposed reducing the hours on Saturday and Sunday by starting one hour later and ending one hour earlier.

The move would affect only commercial lawn maintenance crews operating in residential areas. The thinking is that businesses use larger, louder equipment, so it's reasonable to restrict their operations more than the private mowing work of everyday residents, said Allison Laff, deputy director of transportation, engineering and development.

But the planning and zoning commission unanimously rejected the city's proposal to restrict contractors to mowing only between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends.

"I think this is way overregulating things," Commissioner Robert Williams said. "There are some noises that have to do with life that we just ought to accommodate."

Lawn mowers and leaf blowers are among them, Commissioner Carrie Hansen said. Plus the distinction in regulations between commercial crews and average homeowners seemed unnecessary.

"Lawn equipment is loud, whether it's commercial lawn equipment or it's a regular lawn mower," Hansen said. "I don't know how we've gotten to the point where we can't accept that lawn maintenance is part of living in a residential area or that people work during the week and (the weekend is) when they're able to do it."

The proposed decrease of four hours each weekend was "generally acceptable" to Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce members surveyed by Colin Dalough, director of government affairs. Members were looking for "minimal restriction" and the proposal provided it, he said.

Mayor Steve Chirico, who also pushed for tighter commercial lawn maintenance restrictions in 2012 when he was a council member, said he thinks planning and zoning commissioners gave the wrong recommendation with their unanimous "no" vote.

"It seemed like it was a pretty easy compromise recommendation," Chirico said about the potential change in hours.

Without the commission's support, Chirico said it's likely council members will choose to leave lawn-mowing hours the way they are.

The council, which next meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, in the municipal center at 400 S. Eagle St., will consider the topic during a future meeting.

When is it too early, late to mow the lawn?

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