Huge Turnout as Rohnert Park Forced to Cancel Pesticide Hearing

Share with Friends

Scores of Rohnert Park residents turned up at the city council meeting on Tuesday night, hoping to persuade council members to ban synthetic pesticide use on city property.

Instead, they were surprised by an announcement that the council meeting had been canceled, and the issue pushed to the September 24th city council meeting.

As the meeting was about to get underway, Mayor Gina Belforte told those gathered that three of the five Rohnert Park city council members had notified her of various medical emergencies, one at the last minute, leaving the council short of the quorum required to do business.

Organizers had worked for weeks encouraging members of the public to attend the meeting, and approximately 100 residents were on hand when the meeting was canceled.

Rohnert Park is one of only three Sonoma County cities with no prohibition against using synthetic pesticides on parks, medians and other public property. The other two are Petaluma and Cloverdale. In early June Sonoma County supervisors approved a ban on the use of synthetic pesticides on county property where people gather.

Despite the setback, organizers of the push to ban synthetic pesticides in Rohnert Park pledge they and their supporters will be back, in force, at the rescheduled meeting in September.