Local Government

A citizens’ initiative to impose a “plastic bag tax” on certain stores in Juneau will go to voters this fall.

The CBJ Assembly last night had the option of adopting an ordinance in place of the initiative. But instead of passing the ordinance or delaying action on it past August 22nd, which would have put the initiative on the ballot in October 2012, the assembly simply declined to act on it. That puts the initiative on the municipal election ballot this year.

Mayor Bruce Botelho, participating by telephone, said some in the community had urged the assembly to table the ordinance and delay the vote.

“We’ve all received emails and I suspect calls arguing in opposition to it. I think that explains why it would be inadvisable for us to forgo the initiative process by attempting to adopt the initiative by ordinance itself,” Botelho said.

The initiative would require a 15-cent per bag fee, levied at the point of sale, for all retail outlets in Juneau with annual gross sales of 15-million dollars or more. Stores would remit the tax to the city, just like the CBJ sales tax, and the revenue would go into the city’s general fund.

Dixie Belcher is with Turning the Tides, a local nonprofit concerned about the effect plastic bags have on the environment – especially the ocean. She says the goal of the citizens’ initiative is to encourage people to give up plastic bags in favor of reusable ones.

“It’s something that is just a habit, and we can just as soon get into a habit of taking our own reusable bags,” says Belcher. “They do that in many other parts of the world. They’re actually banned, because of their impact on the ocean they’re banned in 25 percent of the world, and they’re taxed in many other parts of the world. And generally the taxation lowers the use of plastic bags by about 90 percent in the first three months.”

As the mayor pointed out the initiative sponsors will have a tough time convincing many in Juneau to support the tax. Mendenhall Valley resident Geri Swanson thinks the proposal is unfair and won’t have the intended effect.

“Personally, I own several reusable bags and I always forget to bring them with me when I go shopping,” Swanson says. “I recycle those small shopping bags in my garbage in my bathrooms and some I even take to the recycle center. So, I think 15-cents is just a silly idea for the city.”

Joining the “plastic bag tax” on the October municipal election ballot will be a proposition to extend the CBJ’s temporary 3 percent sales tax another five years. Assembly members voted unanimously to put the issue to a vote in October.

The 3 percent tax is due to expire July 1, 2012. The current 5 percent CBJ sales tax has three components – the temporary 3 percent tax, a temporary 1 percent tax, and a permanent 1 percent tax. Among the city functions covered by the 3 percent tax are police, fire, street maintenance, parks and recreation, libraries, and some capital project expenses.

The Juneau Assembly on Monday narrowly voted to approve a controversial request to rezone a property in the Mendenhall Valley from D-10 Residential to Light Commercial. But Assemblyman Peter Freer asked for reconsideration, so the issue will be back before the assembly at its next regular meeting.

The vote to rezone was 5 to 4, with Freer in the minority. He says he’s concerned that the zone change goes against the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which calls for the property to be zoned medium density residential, and thinks the assembly could benefit from a more thorough discussion of the differences between the MDR and Light Commercial zones.

“As the zoning progresses upward if you will from D-10 through D-15, D-18 and Light Commercial the intensity of uses that can occur on the property also increases. And some uses may not require a review before the Planning Commission, but may be simply approved as building permits – for example, offices of up to 10-thousand square feet,” Freer says.

Assembly member Mary Becker made an attempt to amend the ordinance so the property would be rezoned D-18 – still medium density residential, but with more allowable uses than D-10. But her amendment was voted down.

The 2.68 acre property in question is on Atlin Drive where it intersects with Mendenhall Loop Road. Developer Richard Harris bought it in 2010 from the US Forest Service. The northeast corner is bordered by Duck Creek Pond, making 40 percent of the property unusable due to required setbacks. Harris hasn’t said what he intends to build on the parcel, but says he’ll have more opportunity to do something nice for the neighborhood with a Light Commercial zone.

“There is no plan at all. At this point we know that we can build 20 apartments. But we don’t want to spend money to design 20 apartments if there’s something bigger and better that can be done here,” said Harris. “And not necessarily bigger, but mostly better. It’s going to be the face of the community. I personally would not be proud to build 20 apartments right there. I think it’s a waste.”

Homeowners on Atlin and nearby Teslin Street are against the rezone. They say Harris ought to submit a plan before receiving a Light Commercial designation. The city’s Planning Commission also recommended against the change at the urging of the CBJ Community Development Department.

Reconsideration of the assembly’s vote will occur at its next regular meeting, scheduled for August 22nd.

Organizers of a citizens’ initiative in Juneau to tax plastic shopping bags at certain retailers have collected the required number of signatures to put the measure on the ballot. But it might have to wait a year before going to voters.

The 15-cent “plastic bag tax” would be levied at the point of sale, and apply to all retail outlets with annual gross sales of 15-million dollars or more. It’s aimed at reducing the use of plastic bags by encouraging people to go with re-usable shopping bags. Organizers collected more than the required 2,271 signatures to put the initiative on the ballot.

The CBJ Charter gives the assembly the option of adopting an ordinance bypassing a citizens’ initiative, as long as the ordinance doesn’t change the substance of the proposal. If the assembly fails to act in 45 days the measure goes to voters as is.

The plastic bag tax initiative is on the agenda for tonight’s regular assembly meeting. Because of the deadline for preparing this fall’s municipal election, if the assembly delays action beyond August 22nd, the measure would appear on the October 2012 ballot.

Also on the agenda for tonight’s assembly meeting is a public hearing on an ordinance asking voters to extend the CBJ’s temporary 3 percent sales tax another five years. The tax is due to expire July 1, 2012. The current 5 percent CBJ sales tax has three components – the temporary 3 percent tax, a temporary 1 percent tax, and a permanent 1 percent tax. Among the city functions covered by the 3 percent tax are police, fire, street maintenance, parks and recreation, libraries, and some capital improvement projects.

Tonight’s meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall Assembly Chambers. It can be heard live on KTOO.

The Juneau Assembly tonight (Monday) will settle a simmering controversy over a zone change request in the Mendenhall Valley.

At issue is a property on the corner of Atlin Drive and Loop Road, and whether it should go from medium density residential to light commercial. Homeowners in the neighborhood, along with the city’s Community Development Department and Planning Commission oppose the change. The property owner says it’s warranted, but has yet to say what he wants to do with the land.

Casey Kelly has more.

Energy consumption was down 13 percent in Juneau between 2007 and 2010, leading to a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. But the city’s Commission on Sustainability has a more ambitious goal – to reduce the 2007 emissions level 25 percent in the next 20 years.

To get there the commission working on a Climate Action Plan that it hopes will be adopted by the CBJ Assembly later this year. Zoe Morrison is with Sheinberg Associates, one of two consulting firms helping the Sustainability Commission write the plan. She says the 25 percent goal is in line with other communities, as well as state and federal targets and international agreements aimed at reducing emissions.

“And it’s also a level of reduction that we think is achievable for Juneau,” said Morrison. “So, it’s something that makes sense and that over the next 20 years we can get to.”

The plan outlines more than a hundred actions the city, its residents, and businesses can take to reduce energy consumption. It also sets emissions reduction targets for things like vehicles and buildings. Morrison says the plan uses software developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency for calculating emissions with adjustments made for Juneau.

“So for transportation there’s a series of goals and for each goal we’ve done an estimate of what the reduction potential is for each goal,” Morrison said.

Morrison and Amy Skilbred from Skilbred Consulting presented the draft plan to the CBJ Assembly Committee of the Whole last night. Deputy Mayor Merrill Sanford said he’d like to more detail on how much some of the actions would cost in the final version.

“Some of these things are going to be very costly to either an individual or to business or to us as government,” Sanford said. “So somehow I would like to see some of those costs.”

But Karen Crane – the assembly’s liaison to the Sustainability Commission – said it’s important for the report to list as many action items as possible and let future assemblies decide which ones to pursue.

“Some of the recommendations may be some things in here that individual members want to do and others don’t. But to get to that 25 percent it’s really going to be a decision by decision basis, you know, as we go forward, is this economical? Does it make sense for the community?” said Crane.

The Sustainability Commission plans to hold a public meeting on the Climate Action Plan this fall. The goal is to bring it back to the assembly in December for adoption.

In 2007, the assembly passed a resolution joining the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, or ICLEI. Adopting a Climate Action Plan is part of becoming an ICLEI member. The greenhouse gas emissions inventories conducted in 2007 and 2010 were also part of that effort.

CBJ Assembly Meeting
June 6, 2011
Agenda