HomeMy WebLinkAbout046 - 03/19/2013 - AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE CITY CODE TO ESTABLISH A DISPOSABLE BAG FEE (DEFEATED ON FIRST READING) ORDINANCE NO. 046, 2013
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY i
OF FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH A DISPOSABLE BAG FEE
WHEREAS,the City,through its policies,programs,and laws,supports efforts /reducethe
amount of waste deposited into the landfill and to pursue waste minimization as a to term goal by
emphasizing waste prevention efforts; and
WHEREAS, the use of single-use disposable bags has severe impact on the environment
on a local and global scale,including greenhouse gas emissions, litter,harm wildlife,atmospheric
acidification, water consumption and solid waste generation; and
WHEREAS, despite recycling and voluntary solutions to con of pollution from disposable
carryout bags, many disposable single-use bags ultimately are di osed of in landfills, litter the
environment, block storm drains and endanger wildlife; and
WHEREAS,Fort Collins consumers use approximat twenty-two(22)million disposable
bags from food stores each year; and
WHEREAS,the City's taxpayers bear the costs ssociated with the effects of disposable bags
on the solid waste stream, drainage, litter and wild,, e; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has dete ined that a disposable bag fee is necessary to
address the environmental problems associate with disposable bags and to relieve City taxpayers
of the costs incurred by the City in connecti n with the use of disposable bags; and
WHEREAS,the City Council in rids that the fee imposed by this ordinance will help offset
the costs associated with the use of isposable bags in the City and help fund the mitigation,
educational, replacement, and admi istrative efforts of the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. T t the foregoing recitals are incorporated herein as findings of the
City Council.
Section 2. That Chapter 12,Article VII of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended by the dition of a new Division 3 which shall read in its entirety as follows:
ARTICLE VII
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
FAILED TO PASS ON FIRST READING
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Division 3
See. 12-133. Definitions.
The following terms used in this Chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them
below unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Disposable Bag shall mean a bag that is not a reusable bag. Disposable Bag shall not
include:
(1) bags used by consumers inside stores to:
a. package bulk items, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy or
small hardware items;
b. contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish;
C. contain or wrap flowers, potted plants,/or other items where
dampness may be a problem; or
d. contain unwrapped prepared foods or ba7cery goods.
(2) bags used to protect a purchased item fro /amaging or contaminating other
purchased items when placed in a reusable bag;
(3) bags provided by pharmacists to coniatn prescription drugs; or
(4) newspaper bags, door-hanger bagss,, laundry-dry cleaning bags, or bags sold
in packages containing multiple bags'for uses such as food storage, garbage, pet
waste, or yard waste bags. j
Food store shall mean a retail establishment or business located within City limits
in a permanent building, operating year round, that is a full-line, self-service market
and which sells a line of staple foodstuffs, meats,produce or dairy products or other
perishable items. Food4iore shall not include:
(1) temporary yending establishments for fruits,vegetables,packaged meats and
dairy;
(2) vendors at farmers' markets or other temporary events;
(3) businesses at which foodstuffs are an incidental part of the business; or
For/he purposes of subsection (3) above, food sales will be considered to be
incidental" if such sales comprise no more than two (2) percent of the business's
4ross sales in the City as measured by the dollar value of food sales as a percentage
f the dollar value of total sales at any single location.
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Reusable Bag shall mean a bag that:
(1) is designed and manufactured to withstand repeated uses over/a period of
time; /
(2) is made from a material that can be cleaned and disinfected regularly;
(3) is at least two and one-quarter (2.25) mils thick if made from plastic;
(4) has a minimum lifetime of seventy(75) uses; 9dd
(5) has the capability of carrying a minimum of eighteen (18) pounds.
Disposable bag,ree or,fee shall mean a City fee imposed and required to be paid by
each consumer making a purchase from a trod store for each disposable bag used
during the purchase, the proceeds of which are to be used for the purposes specified
in Section 12-135(7).
Sec. 12-134. Disposable bag fee,r"equirements.
(1) For each disposable bag provided to a customer, all food stores shall collect
from customers, and customers shall pay, at the time ol'purchase, a disposable bag
Fee often cents($0.10.)
(2) All food stores all record the number of disposable bags provided and the
total amount of dispo able bag fees charged on the customer transaction receipt.
(3) No food store shall refund to a customer any part of the disposable bag fee,
nor shall any food store advertise or state to customers that any part of the disposable
bag fee will be refunded to the customer.
(4) No,food store shall exempt any customer from any part of the disposable bag
fee for any reason except as stated in Section 12-139.
Sec. 2--135. Retention, remittance, and transfer of the disposable bag fee.
(1 A food store may retain forty (40) percent of each disposable bag fee
6ollected; which is the "retained percent."
(2) The retained percent may only be used by the food store to:
a. provide educational information about the disposable bag fee to
customers; I
b. provide the signage required by Section 12-136;
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C. train staff in the implementation and administration of the fee;
d. improve or alter infrastructure to allow for the implementation,
collection, administration of the fee;
e. collect, account for and remit the fee to the City;
£ develop and display informational signage to in orm
consumers about the fee;
g. encourage the use of reusable bags or promote recycling of plastic
bags; and //
It. improve infrastructure to increase plastic bag ecycling.
(3) The amount of the disposable bag fee collectedby a food store in excess of
the retained percent shall be paid to the City and shall be used only as set forth in
subsection (7) of this Section to mitigate the effects"of disposable bags in the City.
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(4) A food store shall pay and the City shall collect all disposable bag fees. The
City shall provide the necessary forms for,food stores to file with the City, to
demonstrate compliance with the provision's of this Article.
(5) if payment of any amount to/the City is not received on or before the
applicable due date,penalty and interest charges shall be added to the amount due as
described in Section 12-139.
(6) The disposable bag fee�s�be administered by the City Manager. The City
Manager is authorized to adopt administrative rules to implement this Division,
including, but not limitedto, prescribing forms and providing methods of payment
and collection.
(7) Revenues rece�lv ed by the City from the disposable bag fee shall be used only
for expenditures that are intended to mitigate the effects of disposable bags,
including,.but no limited to, the following:
a. administrative costs associated with developing and implementing the
disposable bag fee.
b' activities of the City to:
! 1. provide reusable carryout bags to residents and visitors;
i 2. educate residents,businesses,and visitors about the impact of
disposable bags on the City's environmental health, the
importance of reducing the number of single-use carryout
bags entering the waste stream, and the expenses associated
with mitigating the effects of single-use bags on the City's
drainage system, transportation system, wildlife and
environment;
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3. fund programs and infrastructure that allow the Fort Collins
community to reduce waste associated with disposable bags;
4. purchase and install equipment designed to minim iize bag
pollution, including, but not limited to, recycling 50tainers
and waste receptacles associated with disposablefbags;
5. fund community cleanup events and other Aivities that
reduce trash associated with disposable bags,
6. mitigate the effects of disposable bags onthe City's drainage
system, transportation system, wildlife,and environment;
7. maintain a public website that educates residents on the
progress of waste reduction efforts associated with disposable
bags; and
8. fund the administration of the,disposable bag fee program.
C. No disposable bag fees collected in accordance with this Article shall
be used for general government purposes.
Sec. 12-136. Required signage for food stores.
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Every food store subject to the collection of the disposable bag fee shall display a
sign in a location outside or inside of the business, viewable by customers, alerting
customers to the disposable bag fee.
Sec. 12-137. Exemptions. /
A food store may provide a disposable bag to a customer at no charge if the customer
provides evidence that lie or she is a participant in a federal or state Food Assistance
Program. 1/
Sec. 12-138. Audits.
(a) Each food store shall maintain accurate and complete records of the
disposable bag fees collected,the number of disposable bags provided to customers,
the form and recipients of any notice required pursuant to this Article, and any
underlyin records, including any books, accounts, invoices, or other records
necessa to verify the accuracy and completeness of such records.It shall be the duty
of each food store to keep and preserve all such documents and records, including
/any4ctronic information, for a period of three years from the end of the calendar
f such records.
If requested, each food store shall make its records available for audit by the
during regular business hours for the City to verify compliance with the
provisions of this Article. All such information shall be treated as confidential
commercial documents.
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Sec. 12-139. Failure to comply with disposable bag fee requirements.
(a) If any food store fails, neglects, or refuses to collect the disposable bag fee,
or underpays the disposable bag fee,the City shall make an estimate of�the fees due,
based on available information, and shall add thereto penalties, interest, and any
additions to the fees. The City shall serve upon the delinquent foop tore personally,
by electronic mail or by first class mail directed to the last address of the food store
on file with the City, written notice of such estimated fees, penalties, and interest,
constituting a Notice of Final Determination,Assessment,and Demand for Payment,
(also referred to as"Notice of Final Determination")due and payable within twenty
(20)calendar days after the date of the notice. The food.�tore may request a hearing
on the assessment as provided in Chapter 2, Article VI of the City Code.
(b) If payment of any amount of the disposable bag fee to the City is not received
on or before the applicable due date, penalty and interest charges shall be added to
the amount due in the amount of:
(1) a penalty of ten (10) percezt0f total due;
(2) interest charge of one (1,)percent of the total penalty per month.
See. 12-140. Violations and penalties.
Any food store found guilty of/violating any provision of this Article, whether by
acting in a manner declared to'be unlawful or by failing to act as required, commits
a civil infraction and is subject to the penalty provisions of subsection 1-15(f).
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Section 3. The provisions of this Ordinance shall become effective October 1,2013. The
City Manager shall develop- and implement the administrative and financial processes for the
collection of the fee between the effective date of this Ordinance and October 1, 2013.
Section 4. � any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall of affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter.
Section . This Ordinance is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare
of the residen of the City, and covers matters of local concern.
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Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this)8th day of
March, A.D. 2013, and to be presented for final passage on the 26th day of March, A:D. 2013.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 26th day of March, A.D. 2013.
% Mayor
ATTEST:
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City Clerk e'
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