Avalon staff will bring an oridiance banning plastic bags to the City Counil next month.
The council, in a unanimous vote, directed staff to draft the ordinance following a presentation on the plastic bag issue at the Tuesday, Jan. 7, council meeting.
The council also approved an amendment to the transportation permit for Bike Catalina.
Audra McDonald, administrative analyst, gave the presentation on the plastic bag ban in response to a request from Council Member Richard Hernandez.
Avalon staff will bring an oridiance banning plastic bags to the City Counil next month.
The council, in a unanimous vote, directed staff to draft the ordinance following a presentation on the plastic bag issue at the Tuesday, Jan. 7, council meeting.
The council also approved an amendment to the transportation permit for Bike Catalina.
Audra McDonald, administrative analyst, gave the presentation on the plastic bag ban in response to a request from Council Member Richard Hernandez.
McDonald said the courts have consistently upheld plastic bag bans.
City Attorney Scott Campbell said the most recent decision came Monday, Jan. 6, when the appellate court in San Francisco said plastic bag bans are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act—which meant Avalon would not have to do an Environmental Impact Report before banning plastic bags.
McDonald said one of the next steps for Avalon would be to before banning plastic bags.
McDonald said one of the next steps for Avalon would be to determne the allowable cost merchants could charge customers for using paper bags.
However, Mayor Bob Kennedy was uncomfortable with that idea.
He said he wanted the stay away from deciding what merchants charge. Kennedy said it was one thing for government to get in volved with policy and another to interfere with free enterprise.
Kennedy said he would prefer setting a minimum cost for paper bags rather than an allowable cost.
McDonald said the city could pass the ordinance or begin educating the public.
Council Member Hernandez said the concilw anted an ordinance passed before summer.
Kennedy asked if there were biodegradable bags available.
Campbell, a Los Angeles resident, said that Target or Smart & Final had come out with biodegradable bags in the past week.
“To answer your question, they do exist, but they are more expensive,” Campbell said.
As for the proposed ordinance, Campbell said he would look at ordinances in other cities to reduce the risk of a legal challenge.
Harvey said that realistically, staff could bring a draft of an ordinance banning bags back to the second council meeting in February.
Wayne Griffin, Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, told the Islander that the Chamber board of directors had discussed the issue.
Griffin said that while some individual business owners might oppose a plastic bag ban, he didn’t think the business community overall would.
“Anything like this does raise the cost of doing business,” he said.
Council OKs Bike Catalina permit amendment
The council voted 4-0 to approve an amendment allowing Bike Catalina to use its own vehicle to take customers to the Island’s Interior. Council Member Michael Ponce abstained.
The approval exempts the business from the commercial permit waiting list.
The Avalon vehicle hearing officer approved an amendment to Bike Catalna’s transportation permit to allow the business to take customers to the Island’s Interior. However, the permit still had to be approved by the council.
According to the staff report by Vehicle Clerk Dudley Morand, before the permit was approved Bike Catalina could only take customers to the Interior by Conservancy bus, which was apparently not practical.
