Laws and Ordinances
During the recent past, population pressures, environmental conditions such as drought, and concern over potential pollution problems, have caused many municipalities, counties and even the state of Florida to change existing regulations or to add new regulations. The rate of these changes is rapid and appears to be accelerating. It is sometimes difficult for horticulture professionals be aware of and comply with these regulations. To compound the problem, many adjoining municipalities can adopt different regulations. To properly comply, the landscape designer, retail garden professional, pest control contractor or maintenance operator must not only be aware of the regulations of one or more areas, but must also know where the jurisdictional lines are drawn to know which set of rules must be followed.
This portion of the ProHort
website is dedicated to helping the professional horticulture industry determine which regulations apply in what areas of West Central Florida.
2007
Governor's Climate Change Executive Order
Here
Water
Use Related Ordinances
To view Water Restriction ordinances, Click Here
To view "Xeriscape" ordinances, Click Here
Fertilizer
Related Ordinances
Fertilizer use has become an issue
anyone working in the green industry should be aware of. There has been an
increasing amount of attention on the use of fertilizer in the landscape, as
research suggests that runoff water carrying fertilizer from lawns etc. is a
primary contributor to non-point source water pollution. What does
non-point source mean? Well, it means just that- non point, like you can't
exactly point to the source of pollution, but it does make a difference.
Agriculture has been a traditional source of non-point pollution as runoff from fields, or animal containment facilities adds nutrients and pesticide residues to surface or ground water. Lately, more attention is being focused on the contributions that urban residential areas make to water pollution. As Florida has experienced a wave of growth in population that is expected to continue, governments like the state, counties, and municipalities are trying to decrease the impact of this growth by establishing ordinances about landscape practices.
If you would like to be
responsible for polluting our water please raise your hand!
No one wants to be responsible for contaminating our natural resources! At
the same time, keeping up with different ordinances in different jurisdictions
can cause confusion in the best of companies! There is currently an effort
underway to adopt the Green Industries Best Management Practices for the
Protection of Water Resources as a state wide standard for fertilizer use and
other horticultural practices. If we need ordinances, let's have them
based on University of Florida research and Green Industry experience.
Download a copy at the University of Florida Turfgrass website
http://turf.ufl.edu/
2008 New Rule
for Fertilizer Applications to Urban Turf
See the State of Florida
rule effective 12/31/07
here
See the UF fact sheet here
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP353
See the Fertilizer Task Force report
here
Links to
ordinances or proposed ordinances
These links are intended as
a reference and are current as of 10/18/06. Ordinances may have been added
to your area. Check with your local governments for current ordinances.
St. Johns County
Ordinance
Website:
http://www.clk.co.st-johns.fl.us/PDF/OrdinanceBooks/OrdIndex.htm
Pdfs of
ordinances:
1st ordinance:
http://www.clk.co.st-johns.fl.us/PDF/OrdinanceBooks/2000/ORD2000-06.pdf
Pdf of 2nd ordinance:
http://www.clk.co.st-johns.fl.us/PDF/OrdinanceBooks/2000/ORD2000-42.pdf
Pdf of 3rd ordinance:
http://www.clk.co.st-johns.fl.us/PDF/OrdinanceBooks/2000/ORD2000-60.pdf
Pdf of 4th ordinance:
http://www.clk.co.st-johns.fl.us/PDF/OrdinanceBooks/2003/ORD2003-52.pdf
Martin County
See the proposed ordinance
Here
Sarasota County
http://scgov.net/Content/Content.aspx?C7A6C692B2=A4999B7D
Lee County
See the proposed ordinance
here
Certification Related Ordinances
City of Naples
http://www.naplesgov.com/
Naples resolution requiring
certification:
http://clerk.naplesgov.com/resolutions/06-11245.pdf
See the FAQ
here
This page last updated on
01/18/08