City Council Minutes 2020 05 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes May 19, 2020 Page 9 of 14 Councilmember Dickinson agreed. There is great citizen support for this. He would support a ban as some other cities have done. Councilmember Brown stated he supports this and he wants to ask voters if they support a tax. He would hope this would eventually lead to a ban. Councilmember Fahey stated she would support the ban as her first choice and the tax as her second choice. Councilmember Leh stated he prefers a tax over the ban or fee. Mayor Stolzmann stated she supports the tax as the City doesn't have local authority to do a ban at this time due to the state preemption. She recommended giving staff direction to bring back for further discussion a tax for all bags regardless of the venue at a price equivalent or greater than Boulder's. Councilmember Dickinson stated he supports the ban even though legally it is the most problematic. The ban would have the biggest impact environmentally. He feels it is worth taking the legal risk. Councilmember Leh stated he appreciates Councilmember Dickinson's commitment to this issue, but he feels the legal risk is too high for the City to take on and the cost would be more than we can afford to defend. He would support a tax now and then instituting a ban at a later date if the State preemption is changed. Councilmember Lipton stated he supports the tax. It is not ideal but we need to do something now. He feels most business would prefer the tax as well. He would support it starting in 2022. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney noted he has been to communities with a ban and they haven't been sued by the State so far. He supports the ban but given the risk the tax seems reasonable at this time. Councilmember Dickinson stated Aspen has won a lawsuit regarding such a ban and he would support moving forward with that. He will support a tax at a minimum but would strongly encourage a ban. Mayor Stolzmann stated she supports the tax but not postponing implementation until 2022. City Attorney Kelly stated that while there has not been a legal challenge to the ban in other cities, the law is still clear cities don't have the authority to enact one even with voter approval. She feels implementing a ban at this point would be a risk. Mayor Pro Tem Maloney would like more information on what court actions have occurred in other cities.