What will you do if your town outlaws pesticide use? Forbids irrigated turf? Fines you for using backpack blowers? Do you have an action plan or don’t you think it will ever happen? For some lawn and landscape contractors, restrictive regulations appear as a cruel trick, a totally unexpected surprise.
It’s not too late to act effectively when regulations are made. However, effective grassroots action against restrictive regulation usually requires a serious investment in time and money, as well as strong networking and organizing skills.
The good news is that grassroots activism works. As Ed Grefe, a grassroots consultant in Washington, D.C., noted, “It’s not some arcane science. Lobbying, sales and community development are all the same type of thing. They’re based on relationships.”
REACTING TO CIRCUMSTANCES. Lawn and landscape contractors have banded together to fight restrictions and many have been effective. They reacted to what they called “ridiculous ordinances,” or “joke regulations.” Those regulations, however, reflected public perceptions and fears so strong that regulators and officials could not ignore them. Many of those regulations had great potential to harm the business of landscape.
When most contractors become involved in regulatory issues, they are inexperienced in politics, but those who have been on the political hot seat maintain that they would organize again. In fact, some contractors believe their efforts saved their businesses.
MONTANA PESTICIDE CHALLENGE. Gaithers-burg, Md., Duluth, Minn., and Missoula, Mont., have been in the news for efforts to limit or ban pesticide use. In each case, the proposal originated with a city agency, and only after the proposal was made did lawn care contractors become involved.
“We heard about it and went to a city council committee to discuss the ordi-nance.”recalled John Bass, who owned a lawn care company in Missoula, Mont., in the early 1990s. “It called for 24-inch by 24-inch fluorescent application signs with MSDSs on the back, to be posted from two days before to two days after a pesticide application. There was a fine of $100 per day for noncompliance, homeowners included.”
At this point, local contractors sought help from a state pesticide applicators association, the Professional Lawn Care Association of Amer-ica, nursery groups, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment and other groups.
They formed a community group made of their customers and submitted their customer lists to an Oregon opinion research firm, which surveyed customers and sent them letters explaining how the ordinance would affect their lawn care. Finally, the group produced brochures for local newspapers and television advertisements demonstrating the harshness of the proposed ordinance on ordinary homeowners.
The Missoula ordinance was voted down by a 14 percent margin. The effort lawn care companies put together was huge, but necessary, said Bass. “The other side was equally organized, but without our efforts, we would have gone down to defeat. If we had sat back and not done anything, it would have put us out of business.”
The effort and the emotional nature of the issue eventually had its effect. “It was difficult running the business in the midst of this,” he recalled. Eventually, Bass moved his family and set up a new lawn care business, Lawn Master Inc., in Midvale, Utah. “When I got an offer for my business, I moved. The whole thing was too emotional. I was even challenged physically during some applications. I decided it just wasn’t worth it.”
He added that many activists in Missoula are again trying to limit pesticide use.
NOT ANOTHER DROP. Late in 1996, the Wa-shoe County, Nev., water planning board proposed restricting water use to the point that any further installations of turf on commercial properties would be banned. The proposal was developed in response to state mandates for county water management plans.
According to Paul Flint, president of Lawns Etc., Sparks, Nev., contractors in the busy Reno area immediately were threatened by the proposed ban. “It would have limited our growth in the commercial area. But the real problem was the fact that there was no green industry person inside the group looking at the gallons of water saved vs. the cost to get those savings.”
Contractors from the area contacted industry groups and county extension agents and put together a presentation on the benefits of turf for the board. “We presented the information and stated our specific objections, which were environmental and aesthetic,” Flint recalled. “The next step was to go before the county commission, who sent the proposal back to the planning board to work with us to come up with alternatives. Now we’ve got a green industry representative on the board and it’s reworking the whole proposal.”
Often, proposed regulations appear to solve a problem, but unless the regulators consider all aspects, the plan may only scratch the surface. “We were the only organized group that could point out problems with their plan. We educated ourselves on the legitimate studies on water use, watched the agendas of the agencies that might be making a decision and got our people to represent the industry to those boards,” he explained.
Another persuasive strategy was to show two 30-second videos produced by the Nevada Landscape Association, highlighting the benefits of turf. As for the experience, the local contractors have benefitted by working together, Flint noted. “You just have to get in there and make your concerns known.”
MORE NOISE WOES. The din on the East and West Coasts gets louder as more areas jump on the blower regulation bandwagon. The issue emerged as a response to the nuisance caused when blower users allowed their machines to roar unabated. Now, the issue has escalated into one involving noise, public health and air pollution.
When towns in the northern New York City suburbs first enacted noise regulations limiting professional contractors’ use of power blowers a few years ago, several groups organized. According to Larry Wilson, president of the New York State Turf & Landscape Association, his group and others in surrounding areas joined forces.
One result was a peaceful rally of nearly 600 landscape contractors in White Plains, N.Y. (the county seat), to draw attention to the blower ban. " Scarsdale was one of the first communities to have a seasonal blower ban," Wilson added. What happened next was that other cities passed similar ordinances.
The contractors felt Scarsdale's ordinance was unfair because it limited professional use of blowers and they challenged the ordinanance in court, winning the case on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. However, it was overturned on a technicality.
The reversal was a sobering note for local contractors. "We felt we were lucky to have gotten the initial ruling saying that the ban was unfair," Wilson commented. "We weren't sure we would fare so well with a new judge and prosecutor." So the groups met early this year to revise their strategy.
"What we learned in fighting this ordinance was valuable," he declared. "We got a better perspective of how to evaluate a case before going forward." The groups decided not to challenge the Scarsdale ordinance, but to find a more favorable legal forum.
Next month in Part 2, we'll look at ways to anticipate trouble and build relationships with regulators proactively.
The author is Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
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