Webster Groves residents protest pesticide spraying, demand city follow-up

John Hickey, chair of the Webster Groves Sustainability Commission, opened the meeting and allotted time for a substantial public comment period in which several residents described pesticide drift, frequent gas-powered equipment use and recent herbicide treatment on public “islands” that they said has damaged community plantings.

Why it matters: residents said pesticide drift is harming backyard native plantings and could affect children and pets; neighbors asked the city to clarify who approved herbicide use on neighborhood traffic islands and to clean and restore treated sites.

Multiple residents gave first-hand accounts of pesticide exposure and loss of plantings. Janet Noble, a resident who said she visited nearby Clayton as comparison, said, “The fumes from the gas powered chainsaws are overwhelming.” She also told the commission that pesticides “are causing neurogenerative diseases” and said, “something needs to be done about this.”

Other residents described domestic spraying that drifts into adjacent yards and regular yard-service practices they find harmful. Yael Shomroni said neighbors’ monthly mosquito spraying reached her backyard and that “there is no way we can agree anymore that she has more rights than we do” to spray adjacent property. A resident who identified herself as Laura Rose said the school no-idling idea should be taken to local principals and the school board as well as to the commission. Liz Lanierz described a social-media notice about clearing small public plantings and recommended seeding without herbicide: “I just don't see what the need for the herbicide is.”

Neighbors from Webster Gardens said the city’s contractor sprayed several traffic-island plantings used daily for events and children’s play. Tom Knapp, who identified himself as a Webster Gardens resident, said the islands are used for music performances and community gatherings and that local volunteers had been maintaining them; he said seven of 10 neighborhood islands had been sprayed while three had not. He asked that the city consult with neighborhood stakeholders before altering community spaces.

Commission members and staff acknowledged the comments and described next steps. A commission speaker summarized that the parks director had circulated a written response and that parks staff and the park superintendent, Yvonne, were aware of resident concerns. The commission requested that parks staff provide the commission a copy of the parks department’s response and report back at the next commission meeting.

No formal regulatory change or ordinance was voted on during the meeting. Commission chair John Hickey said the commission would forward a summary of the public comments to the parks department so the department has a record of the concerns and the requests for remediation.

Several residents had also asked about reporting pesticide use to state or federal authorities; in public comment they said they had contacted the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency and MSD and described mixed responses. The commission noted that actions involving private yard spraying and reporting to state agencies are outside the commission’s direct enforcement power but that parks and other city staff would follow up on public-space treatments and communication.

The commission asked that parks staff clarify which public sites were treated, the herbicide used, the approval process for the contractor work, and what remediation the city will provide for community planting sites damaged by the treatment. Commissioners also proposed that the parks department coordinate with the Green Space Advisory Commission and notify neighborhoods before future treatments.

The commission scheduled a follow-up: parks staff will share their response with the commission and the matter will be placed on the next meeting agenda for an update.