VENICE, Fla. — Venice City Council members voted in favor of a voluntary ban on lawn fertilizers Tuesday afternoon.
City leaders believe the ban is sending a message to homeowners, but there will not be fines issued if a resident decides to fertilize.
“It would be a very difficult thing in my mind to enforce. We would have to hire ten times more code enforcement officers,” said Mayor John Holic.
Lawn care manager Joel Traub said the announcement of a possible ban has already hurt business.
“Just the announcement of this ban caused numerous customers to call us and say we don’t want you to put any fertilizers on our lawn,” said Traub.
Fisherman Rob Merlino believes the ban is a step in the right direction, but he would like a permanent ban on fertilizers.
“Just like anything in politics, it takes time. The fact that there is discussion and that it's ongoing is positive,” said Merlino.
Some residents at the meeting believe fertilizers going into the Gulf of Mexico are feeding red tide. The mayor said he received 300 emails on the topic. He said the emails were evenly split for and against the use of fertilizers.
