Supervisors amend and forward citywide biodiversity resolution after debate over pesticides and land use wording

Chair Katie Tang opened the Land Use Committee meeting on April 9 and the committee considered a resolution to establish local biodiversity as a citywide priority and to create an interagency framework for implementation. Supervisor Aaron Feuer, sponsor of the resolution, said the measure grew from months of collaboration among 15 city agencies and is intended to coordinate preservation of native species and foster departmental commitments.

The measure, presented by Debbie Raphael, director of the Department of the Environment, and Peter Braastow, the department’s biodiversity coordinator, lays out a nonbinding city vision and a menu of ways departments can formalize commitment (commission resolutions, presentations or memos), plus a proposed survey and periodic reporting to the Board. Lisa Fisher of the Planning Department said staff are developing tools such as sfplantfinder.org, training modules and guidelines to help integrate a biodiversity lens into planning and projects.

Supporters, including representatives from the SFPUC, Recreation and Park Department, the Port of San Francisco and the San Francisco Public Library, described the resolution as a coordination and stewardship tool. Karen Kubik of the SFPUC said the Southeast plant project and other efforts illustrate how infrastructure and biodiversity goals can align.

During public comment, speakers including residents, conservation groups and institutional partners praised the resolution’s emphasis on connectivity and coordination. But some members of the public raised concerns about pesticide use, tree replacement and removal of language referencing noninvasive non-native plantings. Nadine Whale of the Thornton Foundation asked for amendments to ensure a one-to-one tree replacement rate and to guard against increased herbicide use; Anastasia Glickenstein of the San Francisco Forest Alliance urged banning herbicides such as Roundup.

Committee members pressed staff on pesticide policy and transparency. Chris Geiger, who manages the citywide Integrated Pest Management program, said pesticide use is governed by the city’s Integrated Pest Management ordinance and that applications are tracked publicly at sfenvironment.org/ipm. Geiger said pesticides are used as a last resort, that playgrounds and 15 feet from paths are protected from application, and that the city’s metrics show substantial reductions in high-risk pesticide use (he cited an approximate 95% reduction in tier 1 use since 2010 and an 81% reduction by Rec & Park in one year after new restrictions).

Supervisor Safaei asked staff and the city attorney to clarify a clause on page 4 (line 8) about pursuing opportunities to enhance native biodiversity on city-owned lands "that are not otherwise dedicated to other mandated city uses." SF Environment offered cleaner proposed language: "Pursuit of opportunities to enhance native biodiversity on city-owned lands unless those lands are dedicated to another mandated city use." The supervisor moved to amend the resolution with that wording.

The committee approved the amendment and sent the item to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation "as amended," carried "without objection." The committee’s action forwards a nonbinding policy statement and a framework for interagency coordination; it does not itself change land-use authority held by other departments or create new regulatory permissions. Next steps include finalizing the departmental survey and bringing the agreed language to the full Board for consideration.