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Resident urges city to stop chemical spraying at retention pond near Baldwin Avenue
Summary
A resident told the Sustainability Advisory Board that chemical applications and marsh burning at a retention/detention pond near Baldwin Avenue are killing wildlife and household pets and asked the city to treat the area as green space; staff said the issue falls under another department and will investigate.
James Ponser, who identified himself as living at 402 Baldwin Avenue, told the Sustainability Advisory Board during public comment that chemicals sprayed in a local retention pond have harmed wildlife and killed neighborhood dogs.
“My name is James Ponser. I live at 402 Baldwin,” Ponser said. He described two recent dog deaths that he and a neighbor attributed to chemicals applied in the pond and asked the city to stop spraying and to treat the area as a green space rather than a “burn pit and a chemical dump.” He said the pond is between Newark Avenue and Baldwin Avenue on the east side of the railroad tracks, described sandhill cranes and turkeys using the marsh, and offered to help maintain the area at no cost.
Board members thanked Ponser for raising the issue and noted that the location appears to be city-owned land. A staff member said the matter falls under a different department and that she would seek internal information and follow up. “I’m hoping to dig out some more information,” she said.
Board members agreed the concern warranted further attention and recommended the staff member coordinate with the appropriate city departments to identify who manages detention-pond vegetation and what herbicide controls, if any, are authorized.
