I moved in last year and have gotten standoffish vibes from the neighbors in question. They are all in their 80s (original homeowners from '71!) and in poor health, so I've been reluctant to rock the boat. But at the end of the day, that's probably the only thing I can do.

I'm not exaggerating. PM me and I will gladly give you a location that will allow you to experience the same conditions I deal with every single day.

If you read my post, I was asking about UPCOMING regulations. I am aware the current ones don't cover this problem. Sound proofing my 50 year old house with giant windows, or spending thousands of dollars to move away, are not realistic options for me right now.

I wish they would make a rule so that everyone has to do it at the same time or something!

Victoria Gastro Pub has a view of a parking lot, but the space they have enclosed it actually rather nice.

Leelyn near dorsey search has a really wonderful outdoor are and the food is quite good. Service can be on the slow side and you are rather close to 108 so get some road noise. I still really enjoyed it though.

The Corner Stable would work too - it's a view of the KC village center, but as far as they go it's a nice village center.

Clarksville Commons will also have outdoor seating, that is at least not a view of a parking lot.

Dok Khao Thai has the outdoor patio and a view of the green space in the new Merriweather area.

Turn House has views of the golf course

Sonoma Grill is only open for lunch on the weekends, but the patio out back sits right on the trails instead of the parking lot side. I've been meaning to stop there for a beer sometime but never do.

Lol. Those gas ones brapp like my 2 stroke dirt bike. I think Moco is banning gas ones soon. Apparently terrible for the environment and noise pollution

Come on now, there's no way you're not being at least a tad overly dramatic right? Every day for multiple hours since the middle of the summer? Also, as long as they're doing it during the day, there's likely nothing you can do about it. Maybe look to move or buy some soundproofing or maybe go rake your own leaves as well and show 'em who's boss!

Ah yes, the autumn chorus of leaf blowers- my favorite....not! My neighbor leaf blows half the street. It's loud and smells horrible for hours. I was wondering if we could get a gas powered equipment ban like in California.

Are we neighbors?? I live next door to Blower Man, too! 🙄

Obvious question - have you talked to your neighbors about it? You work from home, this is obviously disruptive, etc.

Presuming that you already have (or if they don't seem to care) I'd probably talk to the HOA. Unfortunately, no laws or ordinances are being broken - exemptions to the noise ordinances are carved out for lawn care (/eyeroll) - but it might be useful to have a complaint on record anyway. Who knows, they'd at least have some sort of mediation available, at least, to prevent this from rising to the levels of neighborhood disputes (one would hope).

Honestly, they really need to do something about the noise levels of landscaping equipment. My neighbors a few houses down have a crew that (thankfully) is there once a week, but despite being 300+ ft away, you'd think they were right outside my bedroom window. Not fantastic when you suffer from migraines. Occasionally there's a county crew on the paths nearby, and they're even worse. If the equipment is so loud the user has to wear protective headphones, maybe, just maybe, it's too loud for anyone nearby.

Elkridge Furnace Inn

The OP mentioned they're in Hickory Ridg, which is part of CA. None of the Villages under CA have any authority over any noise-levels. They will however cite you for excessive leaves on your property.

[removed]

It's normal for incumbent presidents to be a burden in midterm elections. Incumbents have held legislative majorities twice, and the last time was in 2002, after 9/11.

View of the parking garage on that one

The food there is terrible but the view/location is kinda cool

Haven’t yet been to the Food Market in Columbia by the mall but it’s definitely hard to see the outdoor section from the street and it looks like it has a nice ambiance.

Umi Sushi in OEC has a nice back porch on the river.

I like white oak tavern for something close by. Still by the parking lot but the other side is trees, so get a table towards the back. Not a lot of great nature based outdoor dining right in the area that I can think of. I’ve always wanted to stop by Woodstock Inn.

Not what you were asking… But if you want a cool spot for beer check out Elder Pine. A bit of a drive but their outdoor area is spectacular. You can check their Facebook or website for food trucks. Most importantly their beer is top notch if you’re not familiar with it.

[deleted]

Kinda confused why people are reacting so poorly to this idea. As Columbia residents, we literally sign contracts relinquishing all sorts of rights to how we maintain our properties. But the idea of restricting in someway the use of insanely loud and highly polluting machines is a step too far, it seems.

Bro... we've got a guy just like this. He's super friendly, and clearly sees the condition of his yard as a sort of public service. He has some beautiful plantings, so I appreciate his hard work. But he blows leaves ALL DAY. Dual wielding at times. Pretty sure he's done it in the rain.

That's what we do. The neighbors in question are really not into letting nature do its thing. We are in the woods, so there isn't much sun. They seem desperate to have green yards despite this, and are constantly blasting them with fertilizers and pesticides. And after all that, their yards really don't look that great anyway.

At my last house, we turned a shaded yard that was mostly dirt into a really beautiful mixed lawn through a combination of mulching leaves and sowing clover. I respect my neighbors' differing opinions on what makes an "ideal" lawn, but it would save them so much time and money if they would take a more conservative approach!

All of my neighbors use the same team of two elderly men who ride around on giant mowers while holding the leaf blowers. They're definitely not the fastest crew you've ever seen. Usually it takes them about an hour and half per yard. So, I have three neighbors who all hire these two same guys every 2-3 days. Then there is this other guy who is nice, but I genuinely think might be mentally ill, because he's out there blowing EVERY DAY for hours on end.

Like I said, I'm not the type to get worked up about this kind of thing. But they're so inefficient, and it's gone on so long, it's starting to really bum me out.

And to answer your question, we do get a TON of leaves ourselves. But we mulch them using a battery powered mower, which is supposed to be good for the soil.

Not a novel concept. In DC you cannot sell or use gas powered leaf blowers because of the noise and air pollution. Electric are fine. There are also other counties in MD looking to impose similar regulations.

Next complain about the neighbors not upkeeping their property.