(a) The Board of Supervisors hereby finds and declares that it shall be the policy of the City and County of San Francisco for City departments and City contractors who apply pesticides to City property to eliminate or reduce pesticide applications on City property to the maximum extent feasible.
(b) Under this Chapter, the City and County of San Francisco wishes to exercise its power to make economic decisions involving its own funds as a participant in the marketplace and to conduct its own business as a municipal corporation to ensure that purchases and expenditures of public monies are made in a manner consistent with integrated pest management policies and practices.
(c) This Chapter 3 concerns the application of pesticides to property owned by the City and County of San Francisco only, and does not concern the application of pesticides to property that is not owned by the City and County of San Francisco.
(d) City departments shall implement the following City Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy:
CITY INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY
The City, in carrying out its operations, shall assume pesticides are potentially hazardous to human and environmental health. City departments shall give preference to reasonably available nonpesticide alternatives when considering the use of pesticides on City property. For all pest problems on City property, City departments shall follow the integrated pest management (IPM) approach outlined below.
(1) Monitor each pest ecosystem to determine pest population, size, occurrence, and natural enemy population, if present. Identify decisions and practices that could affect pest populations. Keep records of such monitoring;
(2) Set for each pest at each site and identify in an IPM implementation plan, an injury level, based on how much biological, aesthetic or economic damage the site can tolerate;
(3) Consider a range of potential treatments for the pest problem. Employ nonpesticide management tactics first. Consider the use of chemicals only as a last resort and select and use chemicals only within an IPM program and in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
(A) Determine the most effective treatment time, based on pest biology and other variables, such as weather, seasonal changes in wildlife use and local conditions,
(B) Design and construct indoor and outdoor areas to reduce and eliminate pest habitats,
(C) Modify management practices, including watering, mulching, waste management, and food storage,
(D) Modify pest ecosystems to reduce food and living space,
(E) Use physical controls such as hand-weeding, traps and barriers,
(F) Use biological controls (introducing or enhancing pests' natural enemies);
(4) Conduct ongoing educational programs:
(A) Acquaint staff with pest biologies, the IPM approach, new pest management strategies as they become known, and toxicology of pesticides proposed for use,
(B) Inform the public of the City's attempt to reduce pesticide use and respond to questions from the public about the City's pest management practices;
(5) Monitor treatment to evaluate effectiveness. Keep monitoring records and include them in the IPM implementation plan.
(e) Nothing in this Chapter is intended to apply to pesticide applications that are required to comply with Federal, State or local laws or regulations.
(f) This Chapter applies the Precautionary Principle to the selection of reduced risk pesticides and other pest management techniques on City property with the intent of minimizing negative impacts on human health and the environment.
(Added by Ord. 171-03, File No. 030422, App. 7/3/2003)
(Derivation Former Administrative Code Section 39.1; added by Ord. 401-96, App. 10/21/96; amended Ord. 274-97, App. 7/3/97; Ord. 7-11, File No. 100761, App. 1/7/2011)