Nearly 300 people gathered at the Montgomery County (Md.) Council chamber for a public hearing on a proposed ban of nonessential pesticides, according to The Gazette.
Introduced by Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal, the bill bans the use of nonessential pesticides from lawns and certain public green spaces.
“Reactions to the proposal among the first 40 speakers were strong and polarized,” The Gazette reports, and concludes, “Lawn care professionals were divided on the issue.”
For instance, Brian Schoonmaker was in opposition of the bill.
“We cannot afford to have a group of citizens, with no pesticide research backgrounds in the study of the safety of these products, spearhead a law that does not weigh the many benefits of safe and effective use of these pesticides versus the risk,” said the president of Capitol Pest.
Zack Kline, on the other hand, said his company, A.I.R. Lawn Care, successfully uses a natural, organic, pesticide-free technique.
“The results I have seen in my landscaping business show that lawns can be green and healthy at a reasonable cost while keeping people and pets healthy by avoiding the use of pesticides,” Kline said.
A second public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12.
For more on this story, visit The Gazette.
Clarification: An earlier version of this post drew on reporting from BethesdaNow.com. This version, updated Jan. 22, references reporting from The Gazette.
