City Council - Ordinance Committee

Ordinance Committee 3/10/2020 18:00 Room 1 This meeting was video recorded Members present: Salem Derby, Owen Zaret, Tom Peake Meeting called to order Pamela Matsuda Dunn spoke about supporting a carbon tax Minutes from 2/26/2020 were approved 3-0 (motion Peake, second Zaret) The proposed plastics ordinance was reviewed It was introduced by councilor Zaret. He discussed the bag share project, which he had visited with Councilor Lindsey Rothschild. Residents Sara Womer, and PJ Niver of 124 Park street spoke in regards to differentiating between the terms biodegradable and compostable Sunia Hood and Juliette Locke owners of La Veracruzana and Poh-keh bowl both spoke regarding how the local food industry will have to manage their current practices and had general questions regarding the ordinance and how exemptions might work Anthony Karella of Easthampton provided a couple NPR articles regarding the shift of plastics use when bans are put in place Councilor Lindsey Rothschild spoke in regards to a goal of more reuse, and that the goal is not to create a hardship ordinance Beth Mccelheny of Wonderland and a resident was concerned about government overregulation in regards to requirements for paper bags The committee then reviewed the ordinance in a step by step fashion The members of the committee made edits regarding some of the exempted items such as newspaper bags and dry cleaning. They also agreed to edit the exemption period to make it ongoing as long as businesses continue to make requests and they are reviewed and approved by the board of health. On request from councilor Derby, councilor Zaret agreed to check with the health agent to find out how other health department related fines are enforced On motion from councilor Peake and second from Councilor Zaret, the meeting was adjourned 3-0