Grand Forks council will hear from public on pesticide bylaw

Residents of Grand Forks will have a chance to weigh in on a proposed ban on cosmetic pesticides.

But a number of councillors, like Christine Thompson, are not convinced the bylaw will stop people from spraying their lawns.

“To me this is a feel good bylaw. It’s got no teeth in it. It’s going to cause our bylaw enforcement officer to be dealing with issues that his time could be better spent on more critical issues,” Thompson said during last week’s council meeting (Oct. 21)

Councillor Rod Zielinski didn’t agree saying council has passed other “feel good” bylaws in the past, like prohibiting public drug use in parks.

“When it comes to public safety, it’s perception. If this, however it’s perceived, whether it’s good or not, if it makes one of our taxpayers feel better that we have something, I don’t see a problem with that,” Zielinski said.

The idea of a pesticide ban was brought to council earlier this year by local resident Christina Abbott.

Without catching someone in the act spraying their lawn plus at least 10 exemptions, the city’s bylaw department believes it would be hard to enforce with a “narrow window” to apply the law.

The bylaw would result in fines of $250 to $50,000 for violators.

The city will hear from citizens at its next committee of the whole meeting on Monday, Nov. 4. The meeting starts at 10 a.m.