Winnetka trustees who were set to meet March 7 will have a new version of their proposed ban on phosphorus-containing fertilizers to review and possibly adopt, now that village and Winnetka Park District officials have adjusted its language to take park district needs into consideration.
The regulation would now allow the park district to use fertilizers with phosphorus in them on their golf courses and athletic fields, under conditions that include soil testing and ensuring that applicators have the right licenses, Winnetka Village Public Works Director Steve Saunders said last month.
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The park district will also have to keep records of when it uses the fertilizers, Saunders said.
Park District Director Robert Smith said Feb. 27 that district officials were happy with the changes, made after district and village officials met last month.
“It was a very productive meeting and the amended ordinance will allow us to use phosphorus fertilizer when we need it,” Smith said.
Smith said those fertilizers are generally used in the spring and fall to stimulate root growth on the greens at the Winnetka Golf Club, as well as athletic fields when new turf has to be established.
Some levels of phosphorus, which occur in nature, are necessary for plant life, Saunders told village trustees when the initial ordinance was introduced in January. Too much phosphorus running into rivers and lakes can degrade water quality by spurring algae growth. That cuts down on oxygen in the water and eventually degrades aquatic biodiversity, he said then.
At that meeting, Trustee Scott Myers asked whether the village ban might affect park district operations.
The village council was due to adopt the new ordinance Feb. 7, but delayed the vote at the park district’s request.
A current state law governing the use of phosphorus fertilizers exempts park districts from the Illinois ban, Saunders said. In addition to the amendments made for the park district, the Winnetka ban also has some other exceptions: people can use phosphorus-containing fertilizer on newly installed lawns, in vegetable gardens, or in areas where the chemical doesn’t naturally occur at high enough levels, according to the ordinance language.
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