Kauai County is preparing for a large crowd at a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to strictly regulate pesticide use by large farms.

The County Council voted 7-0 Wednesday night to pass Bill 2491 on its first reading.

Hundreds showed up for the meeting at the County Building so the council is looking at larger spaces for a 1:30 p.m. hearing on July 31.

Councilman Gary Hooser, who introduced the bill, said the turnout Wednesday may have been the largest in county history for a hearing and the issue drew a great deal of testimony. "It’s clearly an issue the community cares about," he said.

The bill would affect commercial agricultural businesses that buy or use more than five pounds, or 15 gallons, of restricted-use or experimental pesticides annually. Farms would be required to disclose the type and amount of pesticides they use.

A 500-foot buffer zone would also be created to prohibit the use of the pesticides near schools, hospitals, residential areas, public roadways, streams, rivers or shorelines.

The proposed ordinance also calls for a temporary moratorium on the experimental use and commercial production of genetically modified organisms.

Community concerns about the health and environmental impacts of pesticide use by agribusinesses prompted him to introduce the bill, Hooser said.

But others at the hearing argued that large farms are already regulated by the federal and state governments.

Conflicts will occur with three levels of oversight, said attorney John Hoshibata, representing Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a biotech seed company.

"Two is bad enough," he said. "Three is going to make it a lot worse."

But Councilman Tim Bynum, who co-introduced the bill, said the state and feds have dropped the ball.

"This should be handled at the state and federal level, but they haven’t," Bynum said at the hearing. "The state has failed us."

Residents and community groups who support the bill say they worry about the long-term effects from pesticides possibly linked to cancer and other diseases.

Biotech companies testified that there is no scientific data to support such claims, and the ordinance would hurt business.

Mark Phillipson, spokesman of Syngeta Hawaii, said the agricultural company could lose 90 percent of its lands if buffer zones are created.

"It is inhibiting business," said Phillipson, who is also president of the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association. "It drives business right out. We are good neighbors. We live in this community. The last thing we want to do is harm anybody or anything."

Jeri DiPietro, a founding member of GMO-Free Kauai, testified in support of the bill. "This type of experimental and controversial testing is the most destructive thing happening to our families, our island and visitor industry," he said. "We need to stop these poisons."

Waimea resident Marsha Kiest said she is worried about pesticide drift as wind blows across Pioneer’s agricultural fields, over the Waimea River and into the valley.

"I am particularly worried about the long-term effects of restricted-use pesticides on the environment and the community’s health," she said. "I think disclosure would help."