North Port commissioners urge residents to curb year-round fertilizer use

SARASOTA COUNTY — North Port city commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to encourage residents to curb use of fertilizer year-round — joining Venice, which adopted a similar voluntary ban earlier this year.

City Commissioner Jill Luke worked on the resolution, along with city stormwater management staff.

And similar to a resolution that was passed in Venice, the city of North Port is only urging residents to take steps to curb fertilizer use, in hopes of reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in stormwater runoff, and, in turn, avoiding feeding the red tide algae in the Gulf of Mexico.

North Port stormwater manager Elizabeth Wong said the city is planning educational outreach for a variety of users.