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WW Council Public Hearing 3-11-24

PZ 18-23 Requests a consideration of modifications to the City’s Code of Ordinances, Chapter 415.030 of Definitions and Chapter 415.090 NU Non-urban residential zones to allow for "Agriculture - Research and Development"

Here's what I say: Although agricultural zones do already exist within our non-urban residential zoning through legacy,
Agriscience is NOT agriculture. It is Biotechnology.

Solis Agroscience’s website indicates,

"Plant Transformation Services, end to end pipeline for the design, production and characterization of gene-edited and transgenic plants…include plasmid construction, transformation, genotyping, copy number analysis, gene expression confirmation and grow out services."

Oxford defines agriculture as "The practice of cultivating the soil, growing crops, or raising livestock for other useful products" and defines biotechnology as "the use of living cells and bacteria in industrial and scientific processes".

THEREFORE, SOLIS’ OWN DESCRIPTION IS THAT THEY PERFORM BIOTECHNOLOGY.

BioMass is a company that helps ready municipalities for requirements needed to allow Biotechnology facilities.

  • These are only recommended in an urban industrial environment (where damage from potential contamination to the outside environment with Non-FDA approved genetically modified seeds, plants, pesticides and herbicides, will have less of an adverse impact on humans and nature). 
  • They further recommend, "…municipal water and sewer systems available in commercial and industrial areas…point of contact in city hall to assist biotech projects…AND…
  • Municipality’s Board of Health has adopted the National Institutes of Health guidelines on rDNA activities as part of its regulations…"

As I was unable to find a "point of contact" or even a Health Department at the City of Wildwood, I contacted Rachel Scott Carson at the St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Lab to see if she was familiar with the 149 pages of NIH guidelines for Recombinant DNA technology.  She replied that neither she nor anyone else she knew of was familiar with these guidelines. Speaking with her for over a half of an hour, I got the impression that she was deeply concerned that Wildwood would even be considering allowing Solis to have a biotechnology facility without the ability to do the necessary oversight which is required to protect citizens and the environment.

This proves there is no safe place for Agriscience Biotechnology ANYWHERE IN WILDWOOD.