Editor’s Note:  The following story reporting on the Sebastian City Council’s tentatives approval of a new fertilizer ordinance was published Feb. 27.  

In a 4-1 vote Wednesday evening, the Council formally approved fertilizer regulations similar to those recently adopted by the Indian River County Commission and most other municipalities in the county, including the City of Vero Beach.   The lone dissenting vote was cast by Vice Mayor Jim Hill, who has a background in golf course maintenance.  

Only the City of Fellsmere has yet to consider fertilizer restrictions in line with those now in force throughout the remainder of the county.  

MILT THOMAS

At Wednesday night’s standing room only Sebastian City Council meeting, Pastor Dave Newhart gave the invocation and in it prayed for “calm voices” during the meeting. In a session that was to feature a first reading of the new fertilizer ordinance and a group of anti-Seven50 protestors, the Reverend might have been asking too much.

However, for the most part it was a calm meeting, albeit a long one. The primary piece of business was a first reading of Sebastian’s revised fertilizer ordinance. Sebastian was the first municipality in Indian River County to approve the State’s ordinance guidelines back in 2010, but since then, Vero Beach, Indian River Shores and Indian River County have adopted ordinances that go beyond the state guidelines. After much debate, Sebastian officials drew up a revised ordinance that basically matched the others.

The audience was filled with white-shirted attendees supporting the ordinance and red shirted attendees wishing to speak against Sebastian’s decision to remain in the much-debated Seven50 Planning group.  They all had to wait though, for the County’s Community Planning Director, Stan Boling, to present an update on ongoing impact fee study along with Budget Director, Jason Brown and Phil Matson, planning director for the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Impact fees are reviewed every three years and adjusted based on a number of factors, all reviewed at this meeting.

After the 27-minute impact fee presentation, Beth Mitchell and Michelle Holbrook from the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce gave a review of their 2013 activities. Then Edie Witter, president of the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), spoke about Indian River lagoon pollution and steps being taken by her organization to monitor the lagoon and identify pollution sources. After her 25-minute presentation, Mayor Bob McPartlan reviewed upcoming community events, discussed the consent agenda and then called for a 15-minute break. The meeting was already two hours old.

Coming back from the break, Councilwoman Andrea Coy suggested that since it appeared many speakers were present to discuss their opposition to the city’s participation in Seven50 and that they had spoken extensively about their opposition at the City Council meeting two weeks earlier, it was not new business, which is what the public input resolution requires.  She suggested a workshop where both sides of the issue could be aired and Council could ask questions. “Rather than sit through presentations against the Seven50 plan that really has no relevance to us and with the need to discuss issues that are relevant, why not at least move public input to the end of the meeting.”

After consulting with City Attorney, Robert Ginsburg, the Council then voted 5-0 to hold public input after completion of City business. The decision drew complaints from the red shirts in the audience until Mayor McPartlan asked for quiet.

Council then moved on to discuss the new fertilizer ordinance. A succession of people in support of the revised ordinance spoke and then it was up to the Council to approve. Questions of enforcing compliance came up and Attorney Ginsburg outlined how compliance is typically handled through code enforcement.

Vice Mayor Jim Hill then voiced his opposition to the revised ordinance, saying based on information he had, it was unclear whether having a summer blackout period would be effective and preferred encouraging best management practices. He was also concerned with “affecting the liberty of our citizens,” drawing agreement from the red shirts in the audience.  After each Councilperson spoke, they voted 3-2 in favor of the ordinance revision, with Mayor McPartlan and Vice Mayor Hill the no votes. A second reading will occur at the March 26 Council meeting.

With that completed, attention turned to public input. Several speakers associated with the American Coalition for Property Rights urged the City to drop out of participation in the Seven50 regional planning effort, but the Council discounted reasons given as they had when the same group presented to the Council at their last meeting. At 10:00 p.m., the meeting ended on schedule.