The Knox County Commissioners voted yesterday to repeal the County’s stricter restrictions of the Invasive Species Act. That was one of two repeals done by the Commissioners yesterday; the other was to repeal a 1986 ordinance to set up a noxious weed review board.
The vote was 2-1 to repeal both ordinances, with Kellie Streeter voting against in both instances. Commissioners’ president T-J Brink and Tim Ellerman the Second voted for the repeal. In his comments, Brink argued for the repeal, due to its impact on Knox County landscape sellers. Brink also points to the impact on small business as a reason to restore the 20 previously banned plants from the list.
Near the end of the session, a number of landholders called for the Commissioners to reconsider restoring the ordinances. Their comments centered around Knox County being a leader in banning invasives—including the extra ones not on the state list. In her opposition to the repeal, Streeter called the call for a repeal “nonsense.”
Comments