Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout132-91 RESOLUTION• RESOLUTION NO. 132-91 • A RESOLUTION AMENDING SECTION VM -1.7(2) AND SECTION VM -1.7(4) OF THE VEGATATION MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO LIMIT TERMS SERVED BY OFFICERS AND ADVISORY•COMMITTEE MEMBERS. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1. That the Board of Directors hereby amend the Vegetation Management Policies and Procedures by amending Section VM -1.7(2) Appointment. to add the following: Section VM -1.7(2) Appointment. (b) The Vegetation Management Advisory Committee first appointed and confirmed shall serve for terms of two (2), and three (3) years. Position 1-4 shall serve for terms for three (3) years each, and at large positions 5-7 shall serve for terms of two years each. (c) Upon the expiration of their respective terms, their successors shall be appointed by the ,.Mayor subject to the approval of the city Board 'of. Directors for a term of five (5) years each.=• • `Section 2. That the Board of Directors hereby amend the Vegetation Management Policies and Procedures by amending Section VM -1.7(4) Officers. to read as follows: 'Section VM -1.7(4) Officers. At the first meeting following the, appointment of members, the Vegetation Management Advisory Committee shall elect from among its membership a chairperson, vice -chairperson, and secretary. The officers shall serve one-year terms. No member shall serve more that two consecutive one-year terms as chairperson without interruption of at least a one year period. ••,4�1 PASSED AND APPROVED this 16th day of July , 1991. 1 iL€ rFl,, 'enr ^ �•"ft/ ' Y! J fIy £',:ATTEST: • =;' By: LN--iervyan— y?a City. erk`., CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS VEGETATION MANAGEMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURES Adopted March 5 1991 VM -1.0 .PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to provide policy gwdehnes and procedures to City operations involved in the use of herbicides. VM -1.1 DEFINITIONS: The following words and phrases when used herein shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section. Herbicides Chemicals registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the control of weeds in public urban settings. They mclude a wide variety of different chemical classes with different modes of action. Vegetation Requiring Management 1. Vegetation which obstructs motorists, bicyclists or pedestrian view of traffic, traffic signs and signals, street lights and name signs, or other safety fixtures or markings placed m the public way. 2. Vegetation which is a hazard to the public or to persons or property on or near the property where the vegetation is located. 3. Vegetation which is an obstruction of drainage facilities m the public way, including but not limited to roadside ditches, street curbs and gutters, catch basins and culverts. Vegetation where roots have entered a sewer, lateral sewer or house connection and are stopping, restricting or retarding the flow of sewage therem. 5. Poison Ivy and Poison Oak m locations frequently traveled and visited by people. VM -1.2 POLICY - 1. The City strictly limits the use of herbicides to situations: (a) where vegetation control is necessary to protect health and safety; and (b) where other means of vegetation control are not available or where other means of vegetation control are prohibitively expensive, as determined by the City Board of Directors. 2. Any herbicide use will be part of a long tern Integrative Vegetation Management Plan. VM -1.3 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES: The primary goal of this pohcy is to insure that all vegetation control methods such as biological and mechanical means are given full consideration and use in lieu of herbicides to insure herbicide use is minimized Permitted herbicides. If herbicide use is deemed necessary under the provisions of this policy, a herbicide in the lowest toxicity range available shall be used for vegetation control. Relative toxicity shall be based on the mformation retied upon by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in registering the herbicide, including data incorporated into the herbicide's label. Provided that the City shall not use any herbicide suspended by the EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. B. Public Notification. Notification for use of herbicides, with the exception of those by pnvate parties on private property, shall be through news media, posting of notices at public places, and posting the spray areas as reasonable and appropnate. The City shall post notice of herbicide use conspicuously in the area where the herbicide has been applied. Notification shall be made in a reasonable time period prior to and subsequent to the actual application of herbicides, and shall include the date of application, and the name of the herbicide (mcludmg the herbicide's trade and common name). The possibility of different colored signs or other approaches used to assure appropriate level of notification when feasible will be considered. C. Training. City personnel who apply herbicides shall be fully trained and licensed by the Arkansas State Plant Board. Any firm contracted to apply herbicides and their applicators must likewise be fully licensed by the State to apply herbicides D. Application Procedures. All applications must be done in strict compliance with the label directions. Applications will be made on days with the wind of less than 8 mph to minimize dnft of material, and on days when rainfall is not likely to occur to prevent runoff of herbicides. Application methods used must assure precision of the apphcation to the target area only and kept on target. No mtenhonal or mdrect/umntenhonal application shall be made to drainage ways immediately adjacent to lakes or running waterways E. Sensitive Areas. For purposes of this policy, sensitive areas are those lands which support unique, fragile or valuable elements of the natural environment; contain valuable cultural resources within the City of Fayetteville; or where there is the potential for direct human exposure. These can include- unprotected aquifers, wetlands, special plants, and special plant communities Herbicides shall not be used in the following areas, unless the Vegetation Management Advisory Conunittee deems the application of herbicides m these areas to be necessary. The Advisory Committee's recommendations will be presented to the City Manager for approval by the City Board of Directors. (a) All bodies of water, including natural stream courses. (b) Locations in the vicinity of playground equipment, sandboxes, picnic tables and other similar facilities where people eat or play. (c) Any area containing a plant or animal species designated as rare, threatened, or endangered under the Arkansas Natural Heritage Inventory or the federal Endangered Species Act. (d) Any wetland or bog. 2. Athletic fields are considered to be sensitive areas. Therefore, alternative methods of turf maintenance shall be given prionty for these fields and shall be employed as soon as workable non -chemical methods become feasible. The Vegetation Management Advisory Committee shall make recommendations concerning the feasibility of alternative methods to the City Manager. Immediately following their recommendations, the City Manager will submit the findings to the City Board of Directors for a final decision. 3 Application Jqutpment. All equipment to be used in the application of herbicides shall be equipment manufactured for that specific task Because nozzle calibration is critical for the safe and efficient application of herbicides, nozzles on all equipment will be calibrated on a yearly basis at a minimum. Protective clothing and other protective devices, as recommended by the manufacturer on the label, will be provided to the applicator. All equipment and herbicides used in the City will be stored in compliance with all applicable laws in a safe and secure location. All empty herbicide containers and rinse water used to clean equipment shall be disposed of in accordance with label directions. G. Record Keeping. All records shall be kept on all herbicide applications and notification of applications for a minimum of 10 years. For the purpose of vegetation control, the following information will be recorded for each application. (a) Date and time of use (b) Specific location where applied (c) Purpose of application (target species) (d) Material, amount and concentration used (e) Method and rate of apphcation (1) Temperature, wind speed and direction, weather conditions (g) Applicator's name and applicator license number (h) Apparatus license plate number or equipment number Any complaints or concerns lodged in regards to vegetation control will be followed up on within 48 to 72 hours, and records of such complaints along with the fmdings and follow-up actions will also be kept on file. VM -1.4 Annual Review During February of each year, the City Manager shall submit to the City Board of. Directors for its review and approval, a City vegetation management plan. At a minimum, the "plan" shall include the following: (a) a description of areas where the City intends to manage vegetation and a discussion of the necessity of managing vegetation at these locations; (b) an analysis of the costs and benefits of alternative methods of vegetation management; (c) specific locations in the City where the City staff recommends herbicide use and the specific herbicides recommended for use; and (d) information on the toxicity of herbicides intended for use and on the toxicity of alternative herbicides. The Vegetation Management Advisory Committee shall review the plan prior to submittal of the plan to the City Board of Directors. This review shall include an evaluation of the safety in terms of public health and the environment for any herbicide used. Findings from the review relative to which herbicides may be permitted and any recommendations relative to vegetation control practices will be submitted to the City Manager and the City Board of Directors for consideration. In preparing the Vegetation Management Plan, the City and the Vegetation Management Advisory Committee should request the assistance and cooperation of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Unit at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville, the Arkansas Natural VMA.5 a. Heritage Commission, and other state and local groups, and individuals with expertise in ecosystem management or public health issues. The City Manager and/or the City Board of Directors should fund demonstration projects to assess various types of vegetation management schemes, mcluding alternatives to herbicide use. These projects shall be subject to the city's Professional Selection Process. Proposed projects shall be reviewed to determine that protocols for comparisons and controls are provided to give the City a basis for determining which vegetation management methods are best suited for the NW Arkansas region. The focus of any research should be an effort to reduce herbicide use. VM -1.6 The City shall cooperate with the Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations to promote "area adoption" programs in which selected areas of the city are maintained and enriched by volunteer groups. VM -1.7 Vegetation Management Advisory Committee. In order to assist in implementing this pohcy, particularly in relationship to vegetation management, a Vegetation Management Advisory Committee is hereby established. 1. Membership. The Vegetation Management Advisory Committee shall be created by and adopted by a majority vote of the elected City Board of Directors. The Board may eliminate or modify the Vegetation Management Advisory Committee creation when the majority of the City Board of Directors shall deem it to be m the best interest of the City of Fayetteville to do so. The committee shall be composed of seven (7) persons appointed by the Fayetteville City Board of Directors. (a) The Committee shall include 1 person with expertise in the use of herbicides, 1 person with expertise in integrated vegetation management methods, 1 person with expertise m public health or toxicology, 1 person with expertise in wildlife ecology, and 3 persons from the community at large. (b) If there are not any citizen(s) who meet the qualifications as identified in section VM -1.7 1A, then the City Board may waive the requirement and appoint person(s) accordingly. 2. Appointment. Vegetation Management Advisory Committee members shall be appointed by the City Board of Directors m accordance with the followmg: (a) The Vegetation Management Advisory Committee members shall be appointed by the City Board of Directors using the nominating procedure for all City Board Committee appointments. They shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the elected members of the City Board of Directors. Removal. Any Vegetation Management Advisory Committee member appointed by the City Board of Directors may be removed at any time by a majonty of the elected members of the City Board of Directors. The City Manager may also remove from office any member upon approval by the Board of Directors (Section 14-47-101 et seq.) Officers. At the first meeting following the appointment of members, the Vegetation Management Advisory Committee shall elect from among its membership a chairperson, vice -chairperson, and secretary. (a) The chairperson is the principal officer and will preside at all meetings and shall rule on all matters of procedure regarding the order of business, motion, voting, etc. (b) The vice -chairperson will serve in the same capacity as the chairman in the event the chairperson is absent or in the event of his or her mability or refusal to act. (c) Thesecretary shall keep the official minutes of the Committee meetings in one or more books. 5. Meetings The Committee shall meet on a quarterly basis or as deemed necessary as determined by the Chairperson for the purpose of reviewing and making recommendations to the City Manager on the following: (a) Any proposals/requirements to update the vegetation management policy. (b) The City's Vegetation Management Plan. (c) Other assignments made by the Fayetteville City Board of Directors, or City Manager. 6. City Staff Support. The City Manager shall provide staff support to the committee with assistance from pertinent departments. 7. Reports. The Vegetation Management Advisory Committee shall prepare and render to the City Manager the minutes of each meeting, and any recommendations made by the Committee.