Cape Coral Adopts Fertilizer Ordinance At Last
On Monday night, Nov. 29, the Cape Coral City Council unanimously adopted a fertilizer ordinance, after two years of lobbying efforts by volunteers and staff. Cape Coral was the last municipality in Lee County to pass such an ordinance and its adoption was significant. The Cape has 400 miles of canals and those waterways impact the Caloosahatchee River.
Twenty ordinance supporters were in attendance; including Cape Coral homeowners, members of the business community as well as members of the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, Calusa Group of Sierra Club, Sierra Club staff, and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
While the ordinance mirrors the Lee County fertilizer ordinance in most issues, there is one exception. The Cape ordinance allows the hand dispersion of fertilizer within the ten feet fertilizer-free zone. Sierra Club and its Cape Coral Coalition made the recommendation to excise that section of the ordinance, keeping the ten feet fertilizer - free zone without the allowance of hand fertilizing. That recommendation was rejected by the Council.
Despite that one issue, the Cape Coral fertilizer ordinance is similar to previously adopted fertilizer ordinances in Lee County. Having an ordinance in place will help protect the Caloosahatchee from further degradation.
—Marti Daltry, Conservation Organizer, Sierra Club Ft. Myers Office