Please help people, pets, and wildlife avoid exposure to toxic chemicals in HOA communities. 

Please take a minute to read the below letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and please sign and share to help establish more protective laws for people and the environment. You may also print and mail a copy to the Governor which would be a great help. 

RE: Request for Florida Legislation Protecting Homeowners, Residents, and Wildlife from Negligent and Excessive Pesticide and Herbicide Use in Homeowners Association Communities

The Honorable Ron DeSantis
Governor of Florida
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Dear Governor DeSantis:

I am writing to respectfully request that your administration support legislation establishing stronger protections for Florida homeowners, residents, children, pets, and wildlife from the unnecessary, excessive, and potentially harmful use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, and other landscaping chemicals by homeowners associations (HOAs).

Across Florida, HOAs exercise substantial control over community landscaping and common areas. However, residents may have little practical ability to prevent chemical applications near their homes, on their lawns, around community lakes, or in areas where children play and wildlife lives. In some communities, HOA boards continue authorizing routine chemical treatments despite residents' objections and the availability of alternative landscaping and weed-removal methods.

Homeowners should not be forced to accept unnecessary chemical exposure simply because an HOA board has chosen a particular landscaping contractor or maintenance program.

I respectfully ask that Florida establish legislation addressing the following concerns:

1. Require HOAs to offer chemical-free landscaping alternatives.

HOAs should be required to evaluate and offer practical, nonchemical landscaping and weed-removal services, including manual weed removal, mechanical vegetation control, and other appropriate integrated pest-management methods. Where homeowners hold the majority voting power under the applicable governing documents, the law should protect their ability to vote against routine toxic herbicide and pesticide applications and choose chemical-free alternatives. An HOA board should not be permitted to disregard the lawful majority decision of homeowners in favor of unnecessary chemical treatments.

2. Require advance notice of chemical applications.

HOAs and their landscaping contractors should be required to provide residents with reasonable advance written notice before applying herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, or other regulated chemicals in common areas accessible to residents or on individual properties. Notices should identify the product and active ingredients, the intended purpose, the application location and date, relevant precautions, and any applicable reentry or water-use restrictions.

Residents should not have to discover chemical applications after spraying has occurred, particularly when children, pets, and other residents may be present. Notice should be mandatory and should not depend solely on whether a resident qualifies for an existing state notification registry.

3. Protect individually owned properties from unauthorized chemical applications.

Legislation should clearly protect homeowners against unwanted chemical applications on their privately owned lawns, landscaping, trees, and other property areas, subject to clearly defined legal exceptions. HOAs and contractors should not be allowed to treat private property without appropriate authorization or another lawful basis. Homeowners should have a meaningful opportunity to opt out of optional chemical landscaping services and select suitable chemical-free alternatives without being subjected to unreasonable penalties or retaliation.

4. Prohibit or strictly restrict chemical herbicide applications in sensitive community lakes.

Florida should establish stronger safeguards for HOA-controlled lakes used for fishing, recreation, irrigation, or wildlife habitat. The routine application of chemical herbicides to such waters should be prohibited or strictly limited, with appropriate exceptions for situations in which treatment is necessary to address a documented environmental or public-health concern and is authorized by the applicable agencies.

At a minimum, HOAs should be required to offer homeowners a choice of qualified manual or mechanical aquatic weed-removal services that do not rely on chemical herbicides. Any permitted chemical treatment should require compliance with applicable permits, product-label requirements, environmental safeguards, and appropriate notification of residents.

Community lakes are not merely landscaping features. They support fish, aquatic insects, amphibians, turtles, birds, and other wildlife. Children may fish along their banks, pets may enter the water, and birds and other animals depend on these habitats for food and shelter. The consequences of inappropriate treatment may extend beyond the intended vegetation to the wider aquatic ecosystem.

5. Require responsible application practices and protect against chemical drift.

HOAs and their contractors should be required to follow all applicable pesticide laws, product-label restrictions, and environmental protections. Applications that violate wind restrictions or create unlawful drift, runoff, or contamination of unintended areas should be subject to investigation and meaningful enforcement. Special safeguards should apply near homes, playgrounds, waterways, fishing areas, and sensitive wildlife habitats.

6. Require transparency, documentation, and accountability.

HOAs should maintain accessible records identifying the chemicals used, active ingredients, contractors, application dates, treatment locations, purposes, and any applicable permits. Residents should have a clear process for requesting these records and reporting suspected misuse. Florida should also establish an accessible complaint and enforcement process, with appropriate penalties for repeated or serious violations.

7. Encourage safer landscaping practices throughout Florida.

Florida should encourage HOAs to adopt integrated pest management, preserve beneficial vegetation where appropriate, protect pollinators and other beneficial insects, and use chemical treatments only when reasonably necessary. Publicly funded educational programs and clear guidance for HOA boards and landscaping contractors could help communities transition to effective, environmentally responsible maintenance practices.

I recognize that some herbicides and pesticides have legitimate uses when selected and applied appropriately. My concern is the unnecessary, excessive, or negligent use of these products in residential communities where people, pets, and wildlife may be exposed without adequate notice, meaningful homeowner input, or consideration of viable alternatives.

Homeowners pay association fees and assessments to maintain their communities, not to surrender their ability to raise reasonable concerns about their health, property, and environment. HOA governance should not allow a small board to impose avoidable environmental and exposure risks on thousands of residents without transparency, accountability, and meaningful consideration of homeowner preferences.

I respectfully request that you direct the appropriate state agencies to review these concerns and support legislation establishing minimum statewide protections for HOA residents and wildlife. Such legislation should balance legitimate landscaping needs with homeowners' rights, environmental stewardship, and the public interest in safer residential communities.

Florida's lakes, native wildlife, and residential environments deserve protection. Residents should have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect the places where they live, raise their families, and care for their pets. Requiring transparency, responsible chemical use, and accessible nonchemical alternatives would be a practical step toward that goal.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your service to the people of Florida. I respectfully ask that your office provide a written response explaining whether these proposed protections can be considered through legislative or administrative action.

See related petition links below:

Petition ·  Ban Glyphosate and Diquat at HOA