The effectiveness of fertilizer ord

The effectiveness of fertilizer ordinances depends also on the cultural
aspects of local communities. Both economic micro-motives and
social norms may work in concert to encourage lawn maintenance
using fertilizers (Tekle, 2011). The maintenance of suburban lawns
adds value to residential properties, averaging 12–15% of a home's
value by some estimates (Bormann et al., 2001; Coley et al., 2006).
Moreover, in Florida, neighborhood or homeowner associations have
put in place community by-laws relating to lawn and property esthetics
that may possibly encourage excessive fertilizer applications (Hartman
et al., 2008).
The efforts of environmental organizations, such as the Florida
Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club Florida, have been directed at
changing this culture in order to strengthen local fertilizer restrictions.
These efforts are now boosted in part by TMDL policies being
implemented at the water basin scale through the establishment of
the BMAPs. For example, TMDL load reduction credits for stakeholder
“education and outreach activities” as a component of BMPs now
comprise fertilizer ordinances, among other actions. For the City of
Cape Coral in Lee County (FL), a stakeholder in the Caloosahatchee
Estuary BMAP, education activities, including, among others, the enactment
and enforcement of landscaping, irrigation, fertilizer, and
pet waste ordinances, together accounted for nearly 33% of its initial
total nitrogen load reduction credit of 21.5 mt/yr.