City approves lawn care certification program

Landscapers and lawn care companies doing business in the city of Naples would have to undergo annual certification under a program approved by the Naples City Council this afternoon.

The program is designed to limit the amount of pesticides and fertilizers getting into local waters and causing pollution problems.

City Council members lauded the program as a good first step, citing potential problems with enforcement and citing concerns that the program does not require a high enough percentage of lawn care company employees to earn city certification.

Community Services Director David Lykins said the city will revisit the program after a year's worth of experience with it.

The program requires all businesses providing lawn and landscape maintenance services in the city limits to have at least one supervisor and at least 10 percent of the company's workers certified by the city by Sept. 30, 2007.

By Oct. 1, 2006, all businesses with city contracts for landscape and lawn maintenance must have at least one supervisor certified. Those business must have at least 10 percent of their workers certified within six months of entering into a contract with the city and have at least 50 percent of their workers certified within a year of entering into a contract with the city, according to the new rules.

To earn certification, supervisors and workers will have to complete six hours of study on the effect of nutrients in the environment, landscape design and plant selection, rates and methods of applying fertilizer and ways to minimize pests with fewer chemicals. The program requires three hours of ongoing education credits to obtain annual recertification.

The city plans to offer quarterly training sessions with help from the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Lykins said.

The city will charge a $175 application fee for certification and a $50 renewal fee each year. If companies get certified before March 31, 2007, the city will refund $100 of the application and waive the first year's renewal fee, according to the program.