In a 5-0 vote on Monday, the Malibu City Council approved a citywide pest management plan to make weed-killers such as Round-Up a last resort in the city’s parks, a plan lauded by local environmental activists.
The integrated pest management (IPM) policy does not rule out the use of pesticides entirely, but it lists several alternatives to pesticides. The Parks Department could resort to the use of pesticides if all other feasible alternatives have been exhausted, though officials on Monday said the city has not used a pesticide in its parks in three years.
Parks and Recreation Director Bob Stallings worked with local environmentalists on the policy for several weeks, culminating in a show of support on Monday at City Hall.
“Malibu’s parks and recreation areas are very busy with people,” said Kian Schulman, secretary of the Malibu Agricultural Society. “… It is imperative that we look to nonpoisonous ways to control these pests.”
Schulman’s group recently led a successful campaign in getting the City Council to pass an ordinance opposing the use of rodenticides, or rat poison, in the City of Malibu. A number of local stores have taken rodenticides off their shelves as well.
The IPM is not an ordinance or city law, but a policy outline for how the city handles unwanted invaders ranging from squirrels to snakes to dandelions.
“We do want to be the leaders of a poison-free city,” Stallings said at a September meeting. “If we can balance without chemicals, that is the optimum for us.”