Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance amends Sections 703.24, 709.01, and 709.03 of the Columbus Health, Sanitation, and Safety Code, Title 7, dealing with weeds and rank growth. In 2001, the City updated Title 7 resulting in Ordinance 0858-01. That ordinance created a new “Health, Sanitation, and Safety Code”. The Health, Sanitation, and Safety Code consisted of 7 new chapters. These new chapters included; a definition of weeds, a list of noxious weeds, and delineated the standards regarding such weeds. Since 2001, the City has been evaluating the status of noxious weeds in an effort to understand and improve natural habitats and impact on pollinators, and now proposes several minor changes involving the classification of milkweed and to clarify exceptions for growing noxious weeds. Milkweed is currently classified as a noxious weed by the City of Columbus. Milkweed is the only plant where monarch butterflies lay their eggs but the use of pesticides and habitat destruction has decreased the availability of milkweed to monarch butterflies. Monarch butterflies act as a pollinator and contribute to the wellbeing of the food system that all animals, including humans, depend on.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Title
To amend Sections 703.24, 709.01, and 709.03 of the Columbus City Code in order to remove milkweed from the list of noxious weeds and to clarify the exception for the growth of noxious weeds when used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.
Body
WHEREAS, this ordinance revises portions of the Columbus Title 7, “Health, Sanitation, and Safety Code”; and
WHEREAS, in 2001, the city updated Title 7, “Health, Sanitation, and Safety Code,” resulting in Ordinance 0858-01; and
WHEREAS, that update implemented new regulations regarding noxious weeds and an exception for the growth of weeds if used for agricultural or horticultural reasons; and
WHEREAS, since 2001, the City has been evaluating the status of noxious weeds and now proposes several minor chang...
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