AGENDA REQUEST
AGENDA ITEM NO:
March 21, 2011
COMMISSION MEETING DATE: AGENDA HEADING:
Consent Agenda No. 2 IV.B.5.
BY City Auditor and Clerk Pamela M. Nadalini Mayor Kirschner
Department Head
Originating Department Presenter
SUBJECT:
Adoption Re: Proposed Resolution No. 11R-2215, advising citizens to use precautions in using household and outdoor chemicals to lessen environmental damage and possible effects on human health especially children, etc.
COMMISSION PRIORITIES:
Quality of Life
EXPLANATION:
This item has been placed on the Agenda by Mayor Kirschner.
ADMINISTRATION'S RECOMMENDATION: N/A APPROVAL SUMMARY: Completed By Date Completed Required Status Approval Y 03/04/2011
AGENDA REQUEST
ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION:
ADDITIONAL ADMIN RECOMMENDATION:
FUNDING SOURCE: AMOUNT:
HOUSING IMPACT (Per House): NEW CONSTRUCTION: REHABILITATION:
$ 0 $ 0
SUPPORT DEPARTMENTS:
City Attorney - Robert Fournier City Manager - Robert Bartolotta Public Works - Doug Jeffcoat
AGENDA DISPOSITION COMMISSION ACTION:
Final Action Motion:
Second By: Motion By:
Vote:
RESOLUTION NO. 11R-2215
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SARASOTA, FLORIDA, ADVISING CITIZENS TO USE PRECAUTIONS IN USING HOUSEHOLD AND OUTDOOR CHEMICALS TO LESSEN ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE AND POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH ESPECIALLY CHILDREN; PROVIDING FOR READING BY TITLE ONLY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Sarasota has become advised of the publication of the President’s Cancer Report which raises concerns relative to the health and safety of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, this concern is addressed by a recent announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce the concentration of targeted chemicals by a certain percent in the general population by 2015; and
WHEREAS, citizens should consider following the Precautionary Principle especially in chemical control options when implementing their choices in home and lawn pest control; and
WHEREAS, the Precautionary Principle is an approach that requires minimizing or eliminating potential hazards at the onset of prescribed usage instead of an approach that determines an acceptable or unknown level of harm, particularly when young children are present; and
WHEREAS, Sarasota City government believes that individual residents have the power to protect the health of current and future generations of Sarasota citizens and to reduce the burden of exposure to environmental home and lawn chemical through their own actions.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SARASOTA, FLORIDA:
Section 1. That the City Commission advises citizens and consumers who want to reduce risk to environmental exposure to use sustainable pest control methods to remove sources of food, water, and shelter for reduction of pests and to reduce or eliminate pest problems coupled with consideration of the Precautionary Principle if chemical control options are selected.
Section 2. That the City Commission recommends citizens consider selecting plants adapted to their yards and resistant to pest problems, avoid problematic and invasive plants, and properly install and maintain plants to reduce reliance on watering, fertilizer and pesticide/herbicide applications.
Section 3. That this Resolution shall take effect immediate upon adoption.
Adopted by the City Commission of the City of Sarasota, Florida, upon reading by title only, after posting on the bulletin board at City Hall for at least three (3) days, as authorized by Article IV, Section 2, of the Charter of the City of Sarasota, Florida, this 21st day of March, 2011.
CITY OF SARASOTA
Mayor Kirschner, Mayor Attest:
_________________________________ Pamela M. Nadalini
We are very
proud
of Sarasota County Board of County
Commissioners which passed the precautionary approach by
resolution on September 28, 2010
“
The Sarasota County Board of Commissioners
having become advised of the publication of the
2010 President’s Cancer Report
has concerns
relative to the health and safety of its citizens;”
“Sarasota Citizens should consider the precautionary
approach before using home and lawn chemicals
when young children are present, thereby
eliminating a potential hazard, rather than accepting
a level of risk”
Publication of the 2010 President’s Cancer Panel Report (NCI)
The 2010 President’s Cancer Panel Report is entitled
:
“
Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk
”
This is an important scientific document that calls
for advising citizens to use the precautionary
approach to chemical use when children are present.
“In a great many cases, we
know enough
to act now”
Sarasota County became the first county in
Florida to pass the precautionary approach
“To use
Scientific Certainty
to
prove a chemical safe, especially to children, not
relatively safe, but safe period. That is the Precautionary Approach.”
Regarding chemical pesticides, in Canada and many European
countries, the precautionary approach is the rule – but not in the USA.
In the United States, the precautionary approach has been passed by
the cities of San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, two counties in
California, Sarasota County, Florida, and several national
organizations.
The City of Sarasota will be among the first to adopt the precautionary
approach and an example to the rest of Florida
Temple Beth Sholom , Sarasota, Florida
ADOPTS PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH
Temple Beth Sholom, and its schools,
became the first local institution to pass the
precautionary approach, recommending that
when young children are present, to
eliminate chemical control options, rather
than “accepting an unknown level of risk”
USCJ United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
ADOPTS PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH
USCJ precautionary approach resolution
USCJ United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
asks that “research regarding the potential of widely
used toxic chemicals to cause harm to children be
conducted”
AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION (ANA)
ADOPTS PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH
The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) precautionary approach resolution
“The precautionary approach states that if it
is within one’s power, there is an
ethical
imperative to prevent
, rather than merely
treat disease, even in the face of scientific
uncertainty.”
The 2010 President’s Cancer Panel Report
This very important report to the President of the United States is entitled:
REDUCING
ENVIRONMENTAL CANCER RISK
Published in conjunction with the:
•
US Department of Health and Human Services
•
National Institute of Health
The President’s Cancer Panel reports that
Regulation
of
Environmental Contaminants is the problem.
According to the leading scientists and
physicians in the United States who
contributed to the 2010 Presidents
Cancer Panel Report, the
regulation
of
environmental contaminants is the core
of the problem.
The 2010 President’s Cancer Panel report
“U.S. regulation of environmental contaminants is
rendered
ineffective
by five major problems:
“Too often, these factors, either singly or in
combination, result in agency
dysfunction
and a
lack of will to identify and remove hazards.”
(1) Inadequate funding and insufficient staffing,
(2) Fragmented and overlapping authorities
(3) Excessive regulatory complexity,
(4) Weak
laws and
regulations
(5)
Undue
industry influence
.
Executive Summary, The 2010 President’s Cancer Panel report is available from the US National Cancer Institute’s Web
site at:
