Portland’s city council Wednesday night approved an ordinance that bans the use of synthetic pesticides on most public and private property.
City Sustainability Coordinator Troy Moon says that means a very big education campaign before the change begins for private properties in Jan. 2019.
“Our goal would be to just try to reinforce the education message, and if people really aren’t going to participate in the program then we would have options for enforcement, but our goal isn’t to go about fining people,” he says.
Moon says not following the ordinance could bring a fine of between $50 and $250 per incident, but the city hasn’t yet figured out the details for the implementation or enforcement of the new rules.
Several larger properties are exempt from the ordinance, including Hadlock Field, the Riverside Golf Course and several high-use athletic fields. People can also apply for a waiver if they’re dealing with a situation that can be considered a threat to public health, the environment or existing building or structures — and if there aren’t any alternative methods that would be effective.
The ordinance takes effect for city property in July.
