MOORPARK : Council to Require Notice of Spraying
The Moorpark City Council has decided not to restrict aerial pesticide spraying but will require 72 hours’ advance warning of any pesticide treatment.
The council decided Monday night to require Fedelety Corp., the company that leases a 50-acre plot of city-owned land to a farmer, to inform the city whenever pesticide treatment will occur, Councilwoman Eloise Brown said.
Brown had complained about two instances of aerial pesticide spraying within city limits, arguing that homeowners who live near farms should be told whenever chemical pesticides, especially malathion, are applied.
The city may also notify homeowners associations of the plans to spray, Brown said.
Farm industry officials had complained that Brown was overreacting to the use of malathion, a chemical commonly used in eradication programs against the Mediterranean fruit fly. However, the councilwoman defended her attempts to inform residents of pesticide spraying.
“It will make them aware of it,” Brown said. “If they are concerned after the spraying, then I will bring it back to the agenda.”
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