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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Read Before Packet - 02/04/2025 - Memorandum from Delynn Coldiron re: Leadership Planning Team Meeting Minutes –February 3, 2025 City Clerk 300 Laporte Avenue .O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk MEMORANDUM DATE: February 3, 2025 TO: Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Delynn Coldiron, City Clerk RE: Leadership Planning Team (LPT) Meeting Mayor Jeni Arndt, Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis, City Manager Kelly DiMartino, Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh, City Attorney Carrie Daggett, and City Clerk Delynn Coldiron met remotely on Monday, February 3, 2025. The following summarizes the discussions that began at 8:01 a.m. February 4 Regular Meeting • Item 4 – Supplement Appropriation for the West Elizabeth Corridor Final Design – will be moved to discussion as had been done for first reading, in light of the conflict of interest the Mayor has declared. • Item14 – Amending the Land Use Code Concerning Accessory Dwelling Units and Parking for Multi- Unit Dwellings – City Attorney Daggett noted that an amendment had been made to the Agenda Item Summary and related Ordinance to fix an issue with definitions. February 11 Work Session • No comments. Six-Month Calendar • Leadership Planning Team meeting scheduled for March 10th should be canceled due to NLC. City Clerk Delynn Coldiron • No updates. Assistant City Manager Rupa Venkatesh • No updates. City Attorney Carrie Daggett • Is hoping to complete the hire this week of a new Planning and Zoning attorney. Leadership Planning Team Meeting February 3, 2025 Page 2 of 2 City Manager Kelly DiMartino • No updates. Mayor Pro Tem Emily Francis • Attended a NOCO Biz connect event and gave a shout out to them for the great work they are doing. • Noted there are Fort Collins restaurants who are participating in a reusable container program. She asked if Council could get more information on this program, find out which restaurants are participating and get some of these containers. • Asked if an earlier memo staff provided related to plastic bottles could be resent before tomorrow night’s meeting. The memo is attached. Mayor Jeni Arndt • Received a question on whether it is legal to ice fish on our public lakes. Staff is asked to follow up. • Attended the Destination Board and CEO Conference with Visit Fort Collins staff. She thought the conference was very valuable and gave a shout out to Visit Fort Collins for including her and for all of the work they are doing. She wanted to ensure they got scheduled for a community staff report so they could give an update to Council. The Mayor added that Cynthia Eichler, President and CEO of Visit Fort Collins, is leading the way in this space and an example for her national peers. She also highlighted Gary Ozello for his kindness and dedication to serving the community. • Gave a shout out to John Kinney, new director of the Northern Colorado Regional Airport for the great work he is doing. She added that Representative Lauren Boebert is expected to visit the airport today. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 am. Environmental Services Department 222 Laporte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 Page 1 of 5 MEMORANDUM Date: October 17, 2024 To: Mayor and City Councilmembers Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager Jacob Castillo, Chief Sustainability Officer From: Amy King, Environmental Services Director Subject: Update on Plastic Pollution Reduction Initiatives Bottom Line The purpose of this memo is to provide the City Council with an update on the current plastic pollution reduction strategies within ESD, with a particular focus on the implementation of the City’s local Disposable Bag Ordinance (DBO), including efforts to align with the State’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (PPRA, CO. House Bill 21-1162). Updates to the current Code are crucial and a necessary first step to allow for additional strategies in the future to reduce plastic pollution in the community. These efforts are aligned with: • Council Priority 5, Accelerate zero waste infrastructure and policies • Our Climate Future, Big Move 10 Zero Waste Economy: Business, industry, institutions, and government collaborate to recirculate resources and eliminate waste The information below summarizes current work to update local code language to ensure compliance with PPRA, community engagement and outreach efforts completed with businesses and community groups and immediate next steps. Background In February of 2021 the City Council passed DBO, which was later affirmed by voters in the April 2021 election. DBO banned plastic bags and placed a 10-cent fee on paper bags at 19 large Fort Collins grocers starting May 1, 2022. Environmental Services Department 222 Laporte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 Page 2 of 5 The State also passed PPRA in 2021 with the goal to mitigate plastic pollution in Colorado through a phased approach, which includes a ban of expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers. Phase 1, effective January 1, 2023, introduced a minimum fee of $0.10 per paper checkout bag at large retailers. Including the 19 large grocers under the Disposable Bag Ordinance, over 277 additional businesses were impacted. • The City Council adopted code changes in early 2022 to align with the $0.10 fee and the 60/40 remittance split. • In accordance with the City’s local ordinance, staff actively tracks remittance and fee and expenditure plans of the 19 large grocers in the community. Phase 2, effective January 1, 2024, expands the initiative to the following: • Plastic Bag Ban: Large retailers are prohibited from distributing plastic checkout bags. Retailers can use the remaining inventory of plastic bags until supplies are depleted or until June 1, 2024, and must charge the $0.10 fee. Number of impacted businesses: over 296. • Paper Checkout Bag Fee: The $0.10 per bag fee for paper checkout bags continues as mandated in Phase 1. Beginning on April 1, 2024, and continuing at the end of each quarter thereafter, large retailers are required to remit to the City $0.06 for each disposable carryout bag sold. • Expanded Polystyrene Food and Beverage Container Ban: Retail food establishments are prohibited from distributing expanded polystyrene foam cups and food containers. Establishments can use the remaining inventory of expanded polystyrene foam cups and containers until supplies are depleted. Number of impacted businesses: over 555. Proposed Code Updates The Environmental Services Department (ESD) has been collaborating with the City Attorney's Office to update DBO, ensuring alignment with PPRA, and that local regulations are consistent with the state’s requirements. This will: Environmental Services Department 222 Laporte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 Page 3 of 5 • Allow Enforcement and Enable Stricter Policies: o Enable the City to enforce fee remittance of disposable carry out bags on large retailers, expanding the scope of DBO beyond the original 19 large grocers, o Establish enforcement on the ban of expanded polystyrene foam cups and food containers introduced in Phase 2, and o Provide the City Council with the authority to enact more stringent policies aimed at reducing single-use plastics within Fort Collins. Summary of Engagement and Outreach The PPRA significantly expands the number of businesses required to stop using plastic bags or polystyrene containers and code updates will substantially impact businesses in Fort Collins required to comply with these regulations. Throughout 2023 and 2024 up to 8 City staff worked to educate and engage impacted businesses in the following ways: • Outreach and Education: o ESD conducted three rounds of postcard mailings during the fall of 2023 and winter months of 2024, reaching over 500 businesses. These mailers provided essential information about the upcoming changes and compliance requirements. o Regular email updates have been sent to businesses regarding Phase 2 of the PPRA, ensuring they are informed about the plastic bag ban, paper checkout bag fee and remittance requirements, and the ban on expanded polystyrene containers. • Engagement and Partnerships: o Due to a significant increase in businesses impacted by phase 3 of the PPRA, we will prioritize engagement with our businesses, with the goal of minimizing financial impacts throughout the community. ESD will work in tandem with EHO to ensure that we are aligned around our approach. o ESD has actively participated in various business networking events and presentations to engage directly with stakeholders, answer questions, and Environmental Services Department 222 Laporte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 Page 4 of 5 provide support for compliance. Some examples of this include presenting to the Latino Chamber of Commerce and coordinating with Larimer County Health Department to share information about the changes during the health inspection process. o 2024 funds from the 2050 climate tax were used to fund a one-time offer to support businesses transitioning from the use of polystyrene containers to more sustainable alternatives- the City partnered with Monarca group, the consulting group hired for NoCo Biz Connect to distribute these containers and conduct additional business engagement. o ESD has strengthened partnerships with Eco-Cycle and Trash Mob to educate and engage with the broader community, leveraging their networks and expertise to amplify outreach efforts. Next Steps For 2025-26 ESD is committed to continued engagement with businesses and community to understand the impacts of PPRA on them and monitoring what plastic reductions will occur through implementation and enforcement of PPRA. Understanding the impacts of PPRA on reducing single-use plastics in the community will inform what additional policy options should be explored in the future (such as banning single-use water bottles) as part of our overall waste reduction strategies. Immediate next steps include: • Finalizing code updates to take to Council in 2025 that will allow for the City to enforce the additional pollution reduction strategies. • Monitoring the implementation process to address any challenges that may arise. • Continuing engagement with businesses and community groups to better understand the impacts of PPRA on affected businesses. o This includes using the learnings from Monarca group from the one-time budget offer to support businesses in transitioning away from polystyrene containers. This work will be completed by the end of the year. Environmental Services Department 222 Laporte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970-221-6600 Page 5 of 5 • Continuing research and participate in regional and state-wide conversations to identify best practices and strategies to reduce use of single use plastics. • Exploring how the City can Lead by Example, using the City’s current Purchasing Policy as guidance, to reduce the Organizations use of plastic/Styrofoam materials, and embedding more reusable materials in everyday activities.