An overflow crowd of residents turned out Monday to urge the South Portland City Council to pass a local ban on the use of toxic pesticides, herbicides and lawn chemicals.
Protect South Portland, the citizen group that lobbied for the passage of last year’s ban on tar sands oil, is also behind this latest effort, which it has dubbed “Bees, Bays & Backyards.”
The June 8 meeting was a workshop, so no votes were taken. However, with the unanimous consent of the councilors, city staff will move forward on preparing a draft ordinance, which the council will take up for review on July 13.
To bolster its arguments for going pesticide-free, Protect South Portland invited three guest speakers to make presentations at Monday’s workshop.
Those speakers were Jay Feldman, executive director and co-founder of Beyond Pesticides, Charles Osborne, Jr., founder and president of Osborne Organics, and Mary Cerullo, associate director of the Friends of Casco Bay.
In his address to the council, Feldman said the use of toxic chemicals to control weeds and insects is “a critical issue” and said exposure to these chemicals has led to “elevated health risks” for everything from cancer to birth defects.
He called on city leaders to “make wider use of alternative methods” for controlling unwanted plants and insects and said the public must also adjust its expectations for the “perfect” playing field or lawn.
“Let’s move off the chemical treadmill (and) incentivize the use of non-toxic systems,” Feldman argued.
Osborne said that despite nearly 70 years of turning to chemicals to kill weeds and pests, it’s possible to make the transition to organic controls, even on large parcels of public land.
And, Mary-Jane Ferrier, a spokeswoman for Protect South Portland, said that 24 other towns and cities in Maine have already passed local laws banning pesticides and there is no reason South Portland couldn’t do so, as well.
“We need to do something about the use of toxic chemicals,” she said. “There are ways to have a green and beautiful city – a place for bees, butterflies and kids to thrive. It can be done and done well.”
William Baker, a wildlife biologist and a member of the Ogunquit Conservation Commission, said his town passed a resolution banning the use of pesticides, which has been “embraced by the citizenry, with no pushback from landscapers.”
And Tony Owens, a resident of Cape Elizabeth who lives just across the South Portland line, applauded the city for its “foresightedness and boldness” in considering a pesticide ban.
Owens, like many who spoke Monday, is an amateur beekeeper and organic gardener, who said he’s concerned about what his neighbors are applying to their lawns or gardens, even though he chooses to be all-natural.
Robert Goldman, a resident of South Portland, also urged the council to pass a pesticide ban, saying “it would be wonderful for children, adults and pets” adding the city could be an “example for Maine and the country.”
Helen Slocum, president of South Portland’s Community Garden Collective, is also on board with the pesticide ban and said that one of the most important rules at the community garden is that plot owners can’t use pesticides or fertilizers.
“They have to rely on the science of plant growth,” Slocum said, “but it does work.”
Pam Morrill, another resident of South Portland, said she and her husband have bees and are also organic gardeners, but even so they are “very aware” that whatever they do “runs downhill.” She told the council, “I hope you pursue (this ban) aggressively.”
And Sheila Hanson, who has three grandchildren and is worried about “unintended exposure” to pesticides, urged the council to “have a sense of urgency in moving forward.”
She said city leaders needed to set deadlines in order to “translate this into something that’s real.”
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