TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Stephanie Katsouleas, Public Works Director
Veronica Rodriguez, Maintenance Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Receive this Report on Manhattan Beach Pesticide Management Practices, Direct Staff to Discontinue Use of Pesticides on Turf, and Direct Staff to Work with the Sustainability Task Force to Develop New Pesticide Management and Use Policies Citywide (Public Works Director Katsouleas).
a) RECEIVE REPORT
b) DIRECT STAFF TO WORK WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY TASK FORCE TO DEVELOP NEW PESTICIDE MANAGEMENT AND USE POLICIES
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council receive this report on pesticide management practices used throughout Manhattan Beach, direct staff to cease using pesticides on turf where there is human activity, and direct staff to work with the Sustainability Task Force to develop new pesticide management and use policies citywide, with a key focus on organic alternatives and applications.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There is no fiscal impact with receiving this report. However, should the current pesticide application approaches be modified, the resulting financial impacts will be evaluated. If necessary, staff will seek additional funding based on those modifications once they are known.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Manhattan Beach maintains a variety of infrastructure and open space facilities that routinely require pesticide management for the control of pests. These facilities encompass 48 acres of parkland, the 21-acre Veterans Parkway greenbelt, street and parkway medians, parking lots, downtown and sidewalk streetscape, 43 buildings and structures, the sewer system, and various sports fields owned by both the City and the school district. In Manhattan Beach, pesticide management includes the following types of applications:
• Insecticides for insects
• Herbicides for plants
• Rodenticides for rodents (rats and mice)
• Bactericides for bacteria
• Fungicides for fungi
• Larvicides for larvae
Historically, the City and its maintenance contractors have applied these classes of pesticides to control the following pest groupings:
1. Broadleaf and grassy weeds in turf, hardscapes, greenbelts, tree wells and planter areas;
2. Rodents in buildings and recreational open spaces;
3. Insects (ants, spiders, etc.) in planters as well as inside and outside City buildings; and
4. Cockroaches in sewers.
The pesticides used in Manhattan Beach are relatively effective at preventing and/or suppressing pest problems, and they are all products approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Additionally, companies who apply pesticides are required to be registered with and are regulated by either the CA Department of Pesticide Regulation or the CA Structural Pest Control Board. Commercial Pesticide Applicators for landscaping are also regulated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Agricultural Commissioner/ Weights and Measures.
Within the broad pesticide classification index, the US EPA categorizes pesticides into one of four categories based on their toxicity level, as outlined in the US EPA Pesticide Review Manual (Attachment), and are generally described as follows:
• Toxicity Category I: Highly toxic and severely irritating
• Toxicity Category II: Moderately toxic and moderately irritating
• Toxicity Category III: Slightly toxic and slightly irritating
• Toxicity Category IV: Practically non-toxic and not an irritant
A complete list of the pesticides used throughout Manhattan Beach parks and facilities is included an attachment. The list highlights each product, its intended purpose and location of use. The list also includes potential alternative products for pest control. Note that all of the herbicides used in the City’s parks and open spaces fall under Toxicity Category III, while the insecticides used to kill cockroaches and other nuisance inspects span all four toxicity categories, depending on the insect being targeted.
Several cities in Southern California have adopted polices to reduce and/or eliminate the use of non-organic pesticides, and instead utilize organic products and manual or mechanical labor to control weeds and other invasive species. Some of these cities include:
The City of Irvine
Prioritizes the use of organic pesticides and manual or mechanical weeding for all city properties. The annual cost increase over common pesticide use is approximately $1.19 million (representing a 5% -10% budget increase), and includes hiring an additional 29-contracted employees for manual weed removal.
City of Carlsbad
Follows the Irvine model, Carlsbad spends an additional $100,000 - $400,000 annually (an 8.3% -33% increase) through phased integration of organics.
City of San Juan Capistrano
Treats weeds in parks with organic pesticides only where there are recreational activities occurring. However, non-organic herbicides are still used in parkways and medians where there is no recreational contact. This approach increased the city’s budget by approximately $129,600 (or approximately 5%).
City of Hermosa Beach
Reported that it eliminated all organic and non-organic pesticide uses in its parks and open spaces over a decade ago.
DISCUSSION:
On June 5, 2018, City Council instructed staff to gather an inventory of the non-organic pesticides used throughout the City, whether applied by staff and City contractors, and to bring the item back for further discussion. The list of pesticides used is included as an attachment. It highlights the name of each product used, its intended purpose, location of use, frequency and potential organic alternatives available on the market.
Understanding that City Council is very interested in reducing and/or eliminating the use of non-organic pesticides throughout the City, staff recommends that several steps be taken toward achieving this goal, which include:
1. Direct staff to discontinue use of non-organic products on turf in playgrounds, parks and open space areas where there is recreational activities. However, continue to use existing products on sports fields for the control of gophers and weeds until new measures are adopted following input from affected user groups and assessment of risks (e.g., gopher holes).
2. Direct staff to work directly with the Sustainability Task Force to evaluate all pesticide products currently used by the City and, based on that evaluation, make recommendations for use of alternative products wherever feasible and/or desirable.
3. Develop a formal Integrated Pesticide Management (IPM) plan (see Attachment) for both outdoor and indoor facilities that governs pesticide uses, and which outlines the level of tolerance acceptable based on each location and organic product’s efficacy. The guiding principles of the plan should focus on:
a. Emphasizing the preference for organic pesticides at all City facilities and open spaces.
b. Limiting and/or eliminating exposure to any pesticides where children, pets and the general public congregate and/or recreate.
c. Use non-organic products in a targeted manner, but only if deemed necessary to protect public health and only when pests cannot be effectively managed by other methods.
4. Evaluate the total cost of switching to organic pesticides and manual removal practices (where needed), and make final recommendations to City Council. An additional budget appropriation may be necessary, depending on which applications are ultimately adopted.
The Sustainability Task Force meets monthly. Should City Council direct staff to move forward with the four recommendations above, we will begin working on development of an IPM plan at the next scheduled Task Force meeting.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
Staff has not yet conducted public outreach on this topic. However, public input will be sought as part of the development of an Integrated Pesticide Management Plan and through the Sustainability Task Force’s participation.
Attachments:
1. US EPA Pesticide Review Manual
2. Table of Pesticide Uses in Manhattan Beach
3. Integrated Pest Management Principles Overview