The following article appeared in the May 23, 2007 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
Guelph will have a bylaw that bans the cosmetic use of pesticides, city council decided last night.
In a nearly unanimous vote, councillors approved a resolution that prohibits the use of pesticides except under specific circumstances.
Mayor Karen Farbridge said the issue has been generating discussion at city hall since the 1990s and it’s time for the city to get a ban in place.
“I think it’s a wonderful step forward,” she said.
“It would have been nice to have done it earlier than this.”
City staff will return with a bylaw in June that will match the resolution approved last night. The ban will come into effect for commercial applicators in 2008 and for residents in 2009.
Farbridge said the bylaw won’t prevent homeowners from protecting their properties. She said the intent of the bylaw is to prevent the use of pesticides for esthetic purposes.
The city has a list of exceptions to the ban that allows the use of pesticides for such things as termites, rodent extermination or to destroy “pests which have caused (an) infestation to property.”
“Termites eat your home and there’s a big economic impact to that,” Farbridge said. “It’s not a cosmetic thing.”
Golf courses will be exempt from the bylaw provided they abide by a set of conditions that includes adopting a turf management strategy that reserves pesticide use as a last resort.
David Decorso, co-owner of the Victoria Park Golf Club, said all of the courses across the city either use the required approach or are in the process of adopting it.
City staff have also been directed to work with Hydro One and the Guelph Junction Railway to address their concerns about certain hydro and railway corridors.
Christine Billings was the sole councillor who didn’t support the draft bylaw. She has repeatedly said the language is too vague and asked that city staff work out key definitions such as “infestation” and “pest” before council approved the bylaw.
Several delegations appeared before council last night, pushing for the bylaw’s approval. Guelph resident Oxanna Adams told council that the implementation phase is the right time to fine tune the language in the bylaw.
“It’s unrealistic to expect that we can dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s in advance,” she said.
Farbridge said the city will seek public input as it tightens the definitions in the bylaw.
She said the aim is to have that finished before next spring to allow for public education on the bylaw itself and sustainable alternatives to pesticides. There are unanswered questions within the bylaw about the threshold for an infestation or how exactly enforcement will work.
Coun. Ian Findlay said the city isn’t “reinventing the wheel” and it can look at other municipalities to develop the best system for Guelph.
“I think the basic framework is there,” he said. “We need to resolve some of the more technical issues but it was really important that we pass that framework tonight. We’re over the hump.”
More than 120 communities across Canada have restricted pesticides use.
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Thank you….BRAVO and CONGRATULATIONS on the pesticide ban! My husband and I are absolutely thrilled and grateful. RR
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On another note a big thank you for your efforts last night in bringing forward the motion on the square. We were so pleased to see that move forward with so much support. It’s great news for the downtown. AJ