{"id":963470,"date":"2026-07-27T23:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T23:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/963470\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T23:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T23:54:15","slug":"significant-flea-infestation-closes-popular-marin-playground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/963470\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Significant flea infestation\u2019 closes popular Marin playground"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A popular Marin County playground has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=1365237359089155&amp;set=a.247013504244885&amp;type=3&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">temporarily closed<\/a> because of a \u201csignificant flea infestation,\u201d leaving Fairfax officials to determine how to eliminate the pests without violating the town\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/codelibrary.amlegal.com\/codes\/fairfax\/latest\/fairfax_ca\/0-0-0-3189\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">prohibition on pesticides<\/a> on public property.<\/p>\n<p>The town closed <a href=\"https:\/\/townoffairfaxca.gov\/peri-park\/\" data-link=\"native\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Peri Park<\/a> playground immediately and expected it to remain off-limits for approximately two weeks, according to a notice posted Friday. Officials had not announced a treatment plan or firm reopening date as of Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOut of an abundance of caution for the health of park visitors, the playground will be closed for approximately two weeks,\u201d the town said.<\/p>\n<p>Public Works Director Kristin Arnold was evaluating treatment options that comply with Fairfax\u2019s pesticide ordinance, the notice said.<\/p>\n<p>The town\u2019s municipal code broadly prohibits pesticide applications in municipal parks, open-space parcels, public rights of way and town-owned buildings. Its definition includes insecticides and other substances intended to destroy, repel or control pests.<\/p>\n<p>The ordinance contains limited exceptions and allows the Town Council to approve an emergency exemption by a two-thirds vote. To do so, the council must find that the community\u2019s health, safety and welfare face a threat, that no reasonable alternative is available and that maintaining the prohibition could cause a significant adverse impact.<\/p>\n<p>Fairfax has not indicated that it plans to seek such an exemption. The town said employees were instead working to identify \u201can effective, ordinance-compliant approach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Officials did not specify what may have caused the infestation. The town also has not reported any flea bites or illnesses connected to the playground.<\/p>\n<p>Peri Park, near downtown Fairfax, sits among redwood trees next to the Fairfax Community Center. New play structures were installed in 2021 after a town-backed fundraising effort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognize that Peri Park playground is a beloved gathering place, and we appreciate the community\u2019s patience while we address this issue,\u201d the town said.<\/p>\n<p>Fairfax advised residents to stay out of the affected playground during the closure. People walking dogs nearby should inspect their pets afterward and consult a veterinarian about flea prevention, the town said.<\/p>\n<p>No projected reopening date had been announced. The town said it would provide an update after choosing a treatment plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A popular Marin County playground has temporarily closed because of a \u201csignificant flea infestation,\u201d leaving Fairfax officials to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":963471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[15173,210,1583,80,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-963470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-bay-area","tag-health","tag-marin-county","tag-politics","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116994642362804242","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=963470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/963471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}