Fertilizer Ordinance and Native Plant Revision to Landscaping Code Coming to Committee in St. Petersburg
March 5th
COME SHOW YOUR SUPPORT for CLEANER WATER at the
meeeting of the St. Petersburg City Council [8:30]
FOR MORE INFORMATION on how you can help, contact the Sierra Club at 727-824-8813 ext. 303.
Friends, Here's an important invitation I hope all of you will accept:
The St. Petersburg City Council can help stop Red Tide if they will support the Nurse/Bennett ordinance which will help stop the stinking dead fish and seaweed caused by too much fertilizer on St. Pete lawns. We know how to stop Red Tide and fish die-offs. Sierra Club believes we can stop these problems by cutting down on the sale and unlimited use of nutrient rich fertilizers in Tampa Bay, beginning with St. Petersburg.Help us tell them to make the right vote! Join us next Thursday morning at 9 AM in St. Petersburg's City Hall at the City Council meeting, as we silently show support for the Nurse/Bennett ordinance banning excessive use of nutrient-rich fertilzers on lawns of St. Petersburg.City Council members need to see that citizens support strict controls of dangerous fertilzers.For more information read on, and call Phil Compton (info below) with any questions.
If you need a ride that morning call me.
Bill Bucolo
Chair, Suncoast Group Political Committee
bbuc@tampabay.rr.com tel: 727-347-1829
Time to act for Cleaner Water!
Lower Taxes, More Fish & Wildlife and Cleaner Water:
Let’s Keep Lawn Fertilizer Out of St. Pete’s Water!
March 5th your St. Petersburg City Council will start to consider steps to keep nitrogen & phosphorus out of our City’s waterways. These nutrients belong on our lawns, not in the water where they feed harmful algae blooms. We’re spending millions to remove excessive nutrients from lakes & the Bay. It’ll cost millions more unless we exercise personal responsibility to prevent pollution at its source – our lawns!
We’re asking you & everyone you know to come to St. Petersburg City Council next Thursday morningMarch 5th at 9:00. They’re going to introduce a new ordinance that does some good things, but is not nearly as strong as we need it to be to do the job. As this will be the 1st such ordinance in Tampa Bay, it’s important that St. Pete gets it right the 1st time!
You won’t be asked to speak, you don’t even need to live in St. Pete; just show up by 9 and stay however long you can. When you get there look for a Sierra Club volunteer outside wearing a green button who’ll give you a sticker to wear. Your presence alone will visually show Council that you support a truly effective fertilizer ordinance, one that’s already working in Sarasota & Ft. Myers to clean up the water and fight Red Tide, while keeping taxes low as it improves our quality of life.
St. Petersburg City Council meets downtown at 175 5th St N, near Mirror Lake.
There’s 2 hour free parking on nearby streets.
For more information on how you can help, contact the Sierra Club at 727-824-8813, ext. 303
Phil Compton, Regional Representative
Sierra Club Florida Regional Office
111 Second Ave NE, Suite 1001
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727-824-8813, ext. 303 813-841-3601: cell
www.sierraclub.org
Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
MORE:
The time to act for cleaner water, to strike a blow against Red Tide, is NOW in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg City Council will vote at its March 5th meeting on whether to pass the 1st fertilizer ordinance in Tampa Bay. While that’s great news, there are some flaws with St. Pete’s draft that will weaken its ability to reduce the nutrient pollution that feeds harmful algae blooms and impairs our waterways. If we’re to get a better deal for St. Pete and set a good precedent for all of Tampa Bay, we must rapidly build support for a truly effective ordinance.
Join the Sierra Suncoast Group’s Coastal Task Force and our Coalition for Cleaner Water allies. Our focus is to organize this last week of action to build the support needed to convince Council that the community supports the small but critical changes needed to clean up our water in a way that reduces our tax burden.
Attached are two documents you can use right now to build support:
March 5, 2009
St. Petersburg City Council
James Bennett
Leslie Curran, Vice Chair
Jeff Danner, Chair
Bill Dudley
Jim Kennedy
Wengay “Newt” Newton
Karl Nurse
Herbert E. Polson
Re: FERTILIZER USE AND APPLICATION ORDINANCE
We want to thank you for taking the initiative in the move toward a sustainable approach to the management of this county’s natural resources. A strong Fertilizer Use and Application Code here in Pinellas County would reflect the commitment seen in so many other Gulf Coast communities to protecting the region’s water resources upon which our economy and quality of life is so dependent.
Runoff of nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from improper and excessive use of residential fertilizer is contributing to harmful algae blooms in our lakes, canals, Tampa Bay and along our Gulf beaches. Not only would such an action improve the quality and clarity of our waters, it would also potentially help to guard our coastal businesses from the devastating impact of Red Tide outbreaks.
The Tampa Bay Region would see a total potential reduction of 84 tons of nitrogen should all cities and counties in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee Counties adopt such codes. Taxpayers in the region will save up to an estimated $17 million compared to the costs of installing capital intensive infrastructure. This is an opportunity for personal responsibility to play a more effective role in improving water quality than is possible through costly efforts financed by higher taxes.
The model ordinance recently passed by the Board of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program provides much of the needed language for a meaningful fertilizer code. However, there are several key areas where we believe modification is needed in order to:
(1) Create consistency with the other strong fertilizer ordinances in the region; and
(2) Strengthen the No-Phosphorous language to reflect the consensus among industry professionals and IFAS that there is no need to apply P without a soil test indicating a need for it.
We have incorporated our recommended modifications into the TBEP Model in order to facilitate the discussion regarding their inclusion and have attached it here, along with the Lee County ordinance (for your review and comparison of the two documents). We have also provided the rationale for each modification in a separate attached document.
Creating a mechanism for education and compliance of professional landscapers, local residents, businesses and government in the proper use of fertilizer begins the critical process to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that feed the harmful algae blooms that plague our inland and coastal waters.
We urge you to pass a strong fertilizer management code that will effectively address our needs here in Pinellas County. We are committed to working with you to ensure the efficacy and viability of your new ordinance and hereby offer assistance in any way that you may require.
Thank you again,
Phil Compton
Sierra Club Florida Regional Office
Suncoast Group Sierra Club
Rick Roberts, Snook Foundation
FCAN: Florida Consumer Action Network
Gulf Restoration Network
Pinellas Native Plant Society
USF Student Government
Ocean Conservancy
St. Petersburg Audubon Society
2. Download a flier to send to your friends and family. This is a flyer to ask people to come to the City Council meeting March 5th. Forward it to everyone you know in St. Pete, print it and take it with you everywhere you go. Lots of people will want to go, but few will be able to go to a meeting that starts at 8:30 am. Tell a lot of people so those who can make it will know about it. Stickers will be provided to show support for our coalition position, so assure people they need not know all every detail and get up and speak to Council – they can show their support by their presence.
Please call Coastal Task Force Chair Cathy Harrelson ( 727-374-6312 ) or Phil Compton ( 813-841-3601 ) with your thoughts and suggestions. Remember, our quality of life is up for grabs – let’s not blow this chance to get cleaner & healthier waterways. We’re in it to win it!
Phil Compton, Regional Representative
Sierra Club Florida Regional Office
111 Second Ave NE, Suite 1001
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727-824-8813 , ext. 303 813-841-3601 : cell
www.sierraclub.org
Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
The St. Pete City Council will consider steps to keep nitrogen and phosphorus out of the City's waterways. The public does not speak at these committee meetings, so now is the time to contact the committee members by email and by telephone to ask for their support of these measures to protect our water quality and our bottom line.
The council members to contact include: Jeff Danner, Leslie Curran and Herb Polson. Members may be reached at council@stpete.org or 727-893-7117 . Karl Nurse is also a member of the committee, but he is sponsoring the native plant ordinance and is a strong backer of the fertilizer ordinance, so needs no special contact on this. Jamie Bennett is sponsoring the Fertilizer Ordinance. A big Thank You to both Karl and Jamie for their environmental vigilance and support.
FERTILIZER ORDINANCE
ASK
We urge you to pass a strong fertilizer management code that will effectively address our needs here in St. Petersburg. Creating a mechanism for education and compliance of professional landscapers, local residents, businesses and government in the proper use of fertilizer begins the critical process to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that feed the harmful algae blooms that plague our inland and coastal waters.
When sending email or telephoning
I’ve attached the Tampa Bay Estuary Program Model Ordinance, (with some important additions from Sierra Club). I’ve bulleted the main focus points below.
It’s important to stress that this is about water quality, not lawn maintenance.
Background
A strong Fertilizer Use and Application Code here in Pinellas County would reflect the commitment seen in so many other Gulf Coast communities to protecting the region’s water resources upon which our economy and quality of life is so dependent. Runoff of nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from improper and excessive use of residential fertilizer is contributing to harmful algae blooms in our lakes, canals, Tampa Bay and along our Gulf beaches. Not only would such an action improve the quality and clarity of our waters, it would also potentially help to guard our coastal businesses from the devastating impact of Red Tide outbreaks.
Creating a mechanism for education and compliance of professional landscapers, local residents, businesses and government in the proper use of fertilizer begins the critical process to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that feed the harmful algae blooms that plague our inland and coastal waters.
The Economics of Water Quality
The Tampa Bay Region would see a total potential reduction of 84 tons of nitrogen should all cities and counties in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee Counties adopt such codes. Taxpayers in the region will save up to an estimated $17 million compared to the costs of installing capital intensive infrastructure. This is an opportunity for personal responsibility to play a more effective role in improving water quality than is possible through costly efforts financed by higher taxes.
The model ordinance recently passed by the Board of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program provides much of the needed language for a meaningful fertilizer code. However, there are several key areas where we believe modification is needed in order to:
(1) Create consistency with the other strong fertilizer ordinances in the region; and
(2) Strengthen the No-Phosphorous language to reflect the consensus among industry professionals and IFAS that there is no need to apply P without a soil test indicating a need for it.
NATIVE PLANT – REVISION OF THE CITY’S LANDSCAPING CODE Proposals (As proposed by Councilmember Karl Nurse)
1) identify the best city owned properties for replacement of St. Augustine grass with native plants and groundcovers, and
2) to begin a rewrite of the city's landscaping code to significantly move towards native plants and groundcovers for future development and redevelopment.
ASK
Please support this opportunity to make real progress toward reducing our water consumption instead of the current path of draining our rivers and building additional desalination plants.
The rest of the city council will vote on these issues IF they make it through this committee. Those additional councilmembers are Bill Dudley, Jamie Bennett (sponsor of the Fertilizer ordinance), Wengay Newton and James Kennedy.
Members may be reached at council@stpete.org or 727-893-7117 .
Thank you for your help – your outreach to city council is vital.
Cathy Harrelson
Suncoast Sierra Club
4460 Indianapolis St NE
St Petersburg, FL 33703
Toll-Free 888-612-4448
Office 727-374-6312
Cell 727-415-8805
Fax 727-231-8840
Email cathy_bam@earthlink.net
