Roundup plan riles neighbors of golf course

Developers want to kill grass with restricted herbicide

Ryan Kim OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Aug. 03, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Examiner

Community groups are expressing concerns about renovation plans for Harding Park Golf Course that include widespread use of the herbicide Roundup, a chemical largely banned by The City on public property.

Neighbors are responding to a declaration issued by the Planning Department on July 8 that indicated the proposed work - next to Lake Merced - would have no adverse effects and would not require an environmental study. Currently, Roundup is only allowed for spot applications, but larger uses of the chemical, also known as glyphosate, must receive an exemption from The City's pesticide ordinance.

Jim Herlihy, chairman of Preserve Our Neighborhoods, a West of Twin Peaks community group, said he'd like The City to stick with its restrictions on the use of Roundup at Harding.

"If the Board of Supervisors thought this chemical was dangerous enough to restrict, why on earth would we be spraying (170) acres right next to Lake Merced?" Herlihy said. "If it has to happen, I want an environmental impact report to see what the impacts will be."

Residents have until Friday to appeal the declaration or send comments on the project. If an appeal is made, the Planning Commission will vote on whether to uphold the department's decision or call for an environmental impact report, a detailed review process.

If the negative declaration is approved, the project's sponsor, Arnold Palmer Golf Management, will then seek an exemption from The City's Department of the Environment to use Roundup on the course. It would be the first exemption granted for Roundup in San Francisco.

In 1996, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed one of the first ordinances of its kind in the country, calling for restrictions on certain pesticides on city property.

The supervisors, who banned all chemicals labeled "dangerous" or "warning" by the Environmental Protection Agency, were concerned about the possible cancer-causing effects of the pesticides.

The legislation was prompted in part by stories in The Examiner that reported that San Francisco used 10,000 pounds and 775 gallons of pesticides on city parks and golf courses from 1990 to 1996. Many of the substances used by The City at the time, not including Roundup, were considered possible carcinogens.

According to The City's Department of the Environment, there are currently 77 chemicals and pesticides allowed for use on public property. That includes 13 substances like Roundup, which has an EPA warning of "caution" and can only be used for spot applications.

Representatives from Arnold Palmer Golf were not able to say how much Roundup was being proposed for the renovation project. Company spokesman Brad Beanblossom said the amount would be determined in consultation with Department of the Environment and the Recreation and Park Department.

'Sensitive to everyone'

"We are sensitive to everyone's concerns, and we don't want to endanger the environment of the lake," Beanblossom said. "There is no anticipated way we can foresee any impact on the environment."

The renovation plans for the 170-acre Harding Park Golf Course involve applying Roundup throughout the area to remove all existing grasses. In addition, there would be replanting of tee boxes, fairways, greens and roughs with new grasses. About 120 mature trees, primarily eucalyptus, cypress and pine, would also be removed.

The $15 million plan also calls for building a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse, restaurant and banquet facility and an enlarged driving range.

Herlihy, of Preserve Our Neighborhoods, accused Arnold Palmer Golf of using the cheapest method of clearing the grass instead of considering the larger impacts of the job. The alternative to pesticide use would be digging up the current grass and replanting new grass, a project that would cost more and would most likely take more time.

Beanblossom, however, said the company had chosen Roundup because "it's the most practical application there is."

Gregg Small, executive director of San Francisco-based Pesticide Watch, said he was still worried about run-off into the lake.

"That is a very real concern especially for a project that large," Small said. "Roundup has the potential to cause problems for aquatic species."

Small said glyphosate had been shown in studies to cause some liver and kidney damage in mice and had also been cited as a possible cause of illness for California agriculture workers.

The negative declaration from the Planning Department, however, said "because of it's low mammalian toxicity, risks to human health resulting from the application of glyphosate (Roundup) are considered low."

"We think this is an appropriate conclusion on the impacts of the project, but we're seeking public input on those conclusions," said Hilary Gitelman, The City's environmental review officer.

City officials say that a negative declaration was appropriate even though the developer did not indicate in its proposal how much pesticide would be used. Lezley Buford, a senior environmental planner for The City, said the negative declaration had been issued because the final approval of the pesticide use must come from the Department of the Environment, which will determine how much pesticide is allowable.

"That's all in the process when (the developers) ask for the exemption," said Buford. "They can't do it unless it's safe; the exemption is the mitigating factor."

Mark Westlund, spokesman for the Department of the Environment, said the department would not approve any use of Roundup that would endanger the lake, the air or any surrounding neighbors.

He said the department had already contacted Arnold Palmer Golf officials and told them they must submit a resource protection plan that outlines where and when the substance would be used. The department has said the company must create protective burms to stop runoff into the lake, use spray guards to contain the chemical and not spray beyond Nov. 1, the beginning of the rainy season.

Westlund said the department would probably not limit the amount of pesticide use because the protections should ensure against adverse environmental or health impacts.

Volume "is not consequential here," said Westlund, "It's location and application."

But Bill Quarles, executive director of the Berkeley-based Bio-Integral Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates alternatives to pesticides, said quantity did matter. He said he'd like to see the developers try a non-chemical solution instead of relying on Roundup.

"It stays in the plant for some time," said Quarles of Roundup. "It binds to the soil and can stay in the soil for a pretty long time."

Small of Pesticide Watch said The City would be taking a symbolic step backward if it exempted Roundup on the golf course.

"San Francisco is acknowledged as a national leader in urban pesticide reduction," Small said. "This would be a black eye for San Francisco."