Malibu Pesticide Ban Moves Forward, Council Seeks State Approval

MALIBU, CA — The city of Malibu will ban environmentally harmful pesticides, according to a policy change approved by the City Council in Malibu.

The amendment prohibits the use of substances in which the application has “the potential to significantly degrade Environmental Sensitive Habitat Areas or coastal water quality or harm wildlife,” the new policy reads.

As of now, the change is a condition that applies to any cases where a new development permit is required, but details for when the ban would apply and how to enforce it are forthcoming.

Community Involvement

One of the community stakeholders that will help draft rules for enforcement is non-profit Poison Free Malibu, which had been campaigning for the policy change since late 2014. At that time, the organization’s founders, Kian and Joel Schulman knew that pesticides were harming wildlife, but it took the time to build up enough of a groundswell among the community to support the policy change in 2019.

“We have seen the awareness and concern growing in the public over the years, and that definitely contributed to the ability to actually get something done to stop it,” Joel told Patch.

Poisoned Food Chain

Rodenticides attract small pests, but they don’t kill the animal immediately — that way the animal can ingest the poison and leave, and the homeowner doesn’t have to clean up an animal carcass, Joel explained. It can take up to 10 days for an animal to die from pesticides.

But if a predator, like a bobcat, owl or fox, eats that poisoned animal, the pesticides will show up in the predator’s system as well — and the same is true for any animal that eats the poisoned bobcat, owl or fox. So if a mountain lion eats an owl that ate a poisoned rat, the pesticides can be found in all three animals.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife told Patch that while it's possible to find pesticides in animals' systems, it’s difficult to say how many animals have been killed by exposure to pesticides or what impact exposure has on overall species populations. But between 2014 and 2018, the department found approximately 70 percent to 90 percent of wildlife species in the state with a particular type of rodenticide in their system.

“You’ve got the bobcats dying in people’s backyards,” Kian said. “We have ravens falling from the sky. We’ve got owls dropping dead all over Malibu. It’s not just the mountain lions. It’s all of our predator species are being affected.

Alternative Pest Control

Poison Free Malibu recommends alternatives to pesticides, which both Kian and Joel say are more effective long-term solutions than pesticides anyway.

Pests are often attracted to uncontrolled garbage, so commercial buildings like restaurants and stores can avoid pest situations by sealing up trash containers. For residential areas, where garbage is already well-controlled, homeowners can seal up small holes and cracks where animals enter.

“If you don’t, you can use all the poison you like, you will have a problem forever,” Joel said.

“There’s no reason to use poisons at all,” Kian added. “Poisons continue to poison.”

Terms of the Ban

Malibu’s city planners will now begin the rulemaking process, Malibu Planning Director Richard Mollica told Patch. They will determe details like when pesticide use would trigger the ban, how to enforce it, and whether the city will need to pass any new ordinances to fully implement the ban.

Mollica said the next step is to brainstorm those details with community stakeholders and then present their suggestions to the city council. Creating those rules could take upwards of a year, Mollica said, longer if the city ends up needing to pass new ordinances to enforce the policy.

The change is an amendment to the city’s land-use policy, and has been approved by the city council but needs approval from the California Coastal Commission, which has jurisdiction over the 840 miles of land on California’s coast.

What was passed on June 28 was more of a minor repair. Malibu’s city council had approved an earlier version of the policy in 2019, but when that policy change was presented to the coastal commission, the commission offered some modifications. The latest council action reflects the city’s acceptance of those modifications and the coastal commission is expected to approve the modified policy at its next meeting in August.

Measuring Success

It’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of the ban, as some pesticides remain in the environment for years after their use, but Mollica said there are two concrete measures of effectiveness.

One is a reduction in animals exposed to poisons. The other is an increase in similar policies passed by other cities.

Malibu is a relatively small city, Mollica noted, so the success of the policy is less about its effect on animals and more about its effect on people — specifically city councils and communities in neighboring cities.

Malibu’s policy is the first of its kind, and in order to get the ban approved by the coastal commission, Malibu had to prove to the city that it is consistent with the commission’s other policies. Mollica said another jurisdiction may be able to use Malibu’s work as a basis for bans in other cities.