Upper Arlington City Council is expected to determine this month if the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides will be permitted as part of a new turf-management policy for athletic fields at city parks. 

Council is expected to hold more discussion June 6 and 13 on a proposed "integrated turf management" policy designed to enhance the safety and playability of 60 acres of athletic fields in the city's parks. 

While a vote currently is slated for June 13, a primary sticking point among some residents is the proposed use of pesticides and herbicides by city Parks and Recreation staff.

Under the proposal, those chemicals are "necessary tools" to enable Parks and Recreation staff to provide "quality athletic fields" to the community. They would be employed after a staff member trained in the use of pesticides and herbicides reviews field conditions for 48 hours over three weeks. 

After the assessments, the policy calls for treatments of fields that are performing at the desired level – or Level 1 – only in isolated, spot areas of the fields and typically would be done during seasons when the fields are dormant. 

Fields deemed to be at maintenance Level 2, or when conditions "begin requiring additional treatments to improve turf health," according to the proposal, would receive a maximum of three rounds of spot treatment. 

The proposal states that fields at maintenance Level 3 "is a more intensive program warranted by turf conditions." Those fields would receive up to three herbicide treatment applications "if conditions necessitate their use."

Additionally, the proposal calls Rescue Level the most intensive program for fields "impacted by a combination of existing conditions, severe weather events or use under stressful conditions." It reportedly is intended for short-term use only, with blanket herbicide applications recommended initially.

Those falling under the Rescue Level would receive additional treatments following re-inspection. Then, "an addition of up to 35% more seed and starter fertilizer is available to help establish grass in bare spots resulting from the absence of undesired herbaceous vegetation," the proposal states. 

As part of the policy, Parks and Recreation Director Debbie McLaughlin said mowing at the fields would be increased from once a week to twice a week, and treatments would be restricted to athletic fields. 

"We are talking about the athletic fields of our parks, with a small buffer and not the entire area of the park," McLaughlin said. "What we implement will be on a field-by-field basis, not systemwide. 

"A different field, event in the same park, could be treated differently."

Parks officials promised those administering the chemicals to the fields would adhere to all Ohio Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. The proposal stated pesticide and herbicide products would be reviewed by staff "for impacts to safety, exposure, sustainability and the environment" prior to use. 

Still, a number of residents turned out May 16 to voice concerns over the plan, which would be in conflict with the city's longstanding policy against the use of pesticides and herbicides on city-owned and maintained athletic fields.

Tess Doyle, who said she has children ages 6 and 9, said her children recently attended an Easter egg hunt at Thompson Park, where they and other children were "crawling around on the (park) grass looking for eggs."

"I was so thankful that the parks didn't have any synthetic pesticides or herbicides sprayed at the time so I could feel safe with my children looking around for candy there," Doyle said. "I think this new proposed plan introducing the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides, which we haven't been using currently, is taking us, unfortunately, in the opposite direction. 

"I would really like to see this moving forward with the more organic approach."  

Additionally, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, a seven-member panel of residents appointed by council members to review and make recommendations to council on the city’s parks, recreational programs and facilities, could not reach consensus on the use of chemicals to treat park athletic fields. 

"Historically, Upper Arlington has been a leader in its environmental stewardship of its parks and sports fields with minimal to no use of synthetic pesticides," said Matt Petersen, a board member. "We are proud of these current practices since we collectively share an affinity for the natural environment and want our families and friends to feel comfortable knowing they can safely enjoy our community's public parks."

Petersen added that the advisory board prefers the city continue to focus on the soils at its park athletic fields and issues that affect drainage, as opposed to using chemicals to treat them. 

Others, however, said they were OK with the proposal to introduce pesticides and herbicides to the field maintenance policy. 

Craig Smith, a representative of the Northwest Kiwanis' youth soccer program and a member of the city's Field Sports Advisory Committee, said he was "confident that the concerns will be addressed as the Parks and Recreation staff proceed through developing the type of comprehensive and flexible plan needed to address the very challenges we all face in ensuring that our parks are available for all users."

"I believe a blanket prohibition on the use of herbicides, and not just synthetic herbicides, makes it more difficult and expensive to control native, non-grass species, as well as persistent invasive species," he said.

Ryan DeMay, who identified himself as a resident and representative of the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, called the city's proposal a "very progressive way of looking at turf management."

"What it really focuses on is treating those site-specific needs," he said. "We want to see equity between parks. Currently, we don't have that equity. 

"The path to sustainability is not a choice between conventional and organic. Most importantly, the choice that needs to be made is taking care of the infrastructure that's there. That means planting better grasses that don't require as much water, planting better grasses that can crowd out and compete with weeds better so we don't need to spray herbicides and choosing products that protect pollinators and protect life, and scheduling those applications accordingly so that the folks that use the fields aren't impacted whatsoever."