Plastic bag, polystyrene container ordinance hearing and MET amendment before Camden
Select Board meetings are broadcast live on Time Warner Channel 1303 and streamed live here.
The full Select Board packet, with supporting documents and meetings, is available here.
The proposed Single-Use Bag Ordinance is as follows:
Purpose: It is in the best interest of the citizens and visitors of Camden to protect the environment and natural resources of Maine and our Penobscot Bay region by encouraging the use of re-usable bags and discouraging the use of disposable single-use carry out bags. The town through its policies, programs and laws supports efforts to reduce the amount of litter and waste that must be disposed of by supporting the State waste management hierarchy to reduce, reuse, recycle. The intent is also to reduce the environmental impact of the manufacture and transportation of single-use bags.
Definitions
As used in this ordinance, the following terms have the following meanings:
Single-Use Carryout Bag means a bag other than a Rreusable bag, as defined below, provided at the check stand, cash register, point of sale or other point of departure for the purpose of transporting food or merchandise out of the Retail establishment. The term single-use carryout bag includes plastic, compostable and biodegradable bags, paper bags, but does not includerReusable Bbags, Ddry Ccleaning Bbags, Pproduce Bbags, Pproduct Bbags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription drugs.
Reusable Bag means a bag that meets the following criteria:
- (a) Designed and manufactured to withstand repeated uses over a period of time
- (b) Is machine washable or made from a material that can be cleaned and disinfected
- regularly
- (c) Has a minimum lifetime of 75 uses; and
- (d) Is at least four mils thick, if made from plastic; and
- (e) Has the capability of carrying a minimum of 18 pounds
Product Bag or Produce Bag means any bag without handles used exclusively to carry produce, meats or other food items or merchandise to the point of sale inside a store or to prevent such items from coming in direct contact with other purchased items.
Retail Establishment means any business of any size which sells goods directly to the public.
Store means any of the following retail establishments, excluding restaurants, located within the town of Camden:
- (a) A full-line, self-service market located in a permanent building, operating year-round, and which sells at retail a line of staple foodstuffs or at least one of on the following: meats, produce, dairy products or other perishable items.
- (b) A drug store, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store, convenience food store, food mart, or other entity engaged in the retail sale of a limited line of goods that include milk, bread, soda and snack foods.
Single-Use Carryout Bags
- Prohibition. Except as provided in this section, no Retail Establishment as defined
- above shall provide a single-use carryout plastic bag to a customer at the check stand, cash register or point of sale or other point of departure for the purposes of transporting food or merchandise out of the establishment.
- A Store may make available for sale to a customer a single-use carryout paper, compostable or biodegradable bag for a mandatory, uniform charge of ten cents ($.10) per bag.
- All monies collected by a Store for the sale of single-use carryout bags under this section may be used by the store for any lawful purpose.
- All Stores must post signage clearly indicating the per bag charge for paper, compostable or biodegradable single-use carry out bags.
- Notwithstanding this section, no Store may make available for sale a paper, compostable or biodegradable single-use carry out bag unless the amount of the sale of the single-use carry out bag is separately itemized on the sale receipt.
- No Store shall rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer any portion of the charge required in subsection (b).
Permitted Bags
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit customers from using bags of any type that customers bring to the store for their own use or from carrying away from the store goods that are not placed in a bag provided by the store.
Violations and Enforcements
The Town Police Department or their designee shall have the primary responsibility for enforcement of this ordinance. If the Town Police Department or its designee(s) determine that a violation of this ordinance has occurred, a written warning notice will be issued to the store that the violation has occurred. Subsequent violations of this ordinance shall be subject to the penalties as set forth below.
Violations of this ordinance shall be punishable as follows:
(a) A fine not exceeding $100 for the first violation after a warning in a one year period; (b) A fine not exceeding $250 for the second and each subsequent violation in a one year
period.
(c) Reimbursement of the town’s legal fees and costs for prosecution of each violation;
injunctive relief as may be ordered by the Court to eliminate future found..Effective Date: January 1, 2019 (or 6 months after the ordinance is passed)
The proposed Prohibition on Polystyrene Containers is as follows:
TOWN OF CAMDEN Police Ordinance
Part XXX-X
Prohibition on Polystyrene Containers
Section 1—Purpose
Polystyrene foam is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer. A lightweight, good insulator, polysty- rene is largely air. Many products use polystyrene to either keep items warm or cold, or use the product to pack and ship items safely. Polystyrene is not easily recycled and when littered or discarded, creates undesirable impacts on wa- ter quality, stormwater, and wildlife, especially since it disintegrates easily into small particles and becomes difficult to retrieve. There are alternatives that are reusable, recyclable or compostable, which are already on the market and readi- ly available.
Therefore, Camden, Maine, herebyis adoptsting a ban on polystyrene to support the Purpose described above, and the Town finds that: because:
• Camden is located on Penobscot Bay, an area known worldwide for its natural beauty, fish and other wildlife;
• Camden has an obligation to maintain and preserve the area’s special natural environment; and,
• and, Mmaintenance of Camden as litter-free as possible is important to protect and preserve its natural environment and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors.
This Ordinance will serve the public interest by reducing the amount of non-biodegradable waste and littering in Cam- den. In keeping with this, it is anticipated that; a portion of any substitute packaging is expected to be composed of biodegradable material in whole or in part.
(The State of Maine has banned the service of food and beverages in polystyrene foam containers at facilities or func- tions of the State since 1990. Over 100 cities across the United States have in one form or another banned the use or sale of polystyrene.)
Sec 2—Definitions
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
“Food Packager” means any person located within Camden who places meat, eggs, bakery products, or other food in packaging materials for the purpose of retail sale of those products.
“Prepared food” means food or beverages which are served at the food vendor’s location having been previously pre- pared elsewhere or are prepared at the vendor’s location by cooking, chopping, slicing, mixing, brewing, freezing or squeezing.
“Prepared food” may be eaten either on or off premises.
“Polystyrene foam” means and includes blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded foams (sometimes incorrectly called Styrofoam®, a Dow Chemical Company trademarked form of polystyrene foam insulation) that are thermo- plastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by any number of techniques, including, but not limited to, fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding, and extru- sion-blow molding (extruded foam polystyrene). Polystyrene foam is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, trays, clamshell containers, meat trays and egg cartons. For the purposes of this Article, the term “polystyrene” shall not in- clude clear polystyrene known as “oriented polystyrene.”
“Retail Vendor” means any person, restaurant, store, shop, sales outlet, or other establishment, including, without limi- tation, a grocery store, convenience store or a delicatessen, located within Camden and that offers prepared food for retail sale.
Sec. 3—Prohibitions
A. No retail vendor in Camden shall serve or sell prepared food in polystyrene foam containers and no food packager shall package meat, eggs, bakery products, or other food in polystyrene foam containers.
No retail vendor in Camden that sells tangible personal property at retail shall sell polystyrene foam food or bever- age containers.
- Camden shall not use polystyrene foam food or beverage containers at any Camden facility or Camden-sponsored event.
- No Camden department or facility shall purchase or acquire polystyrene foam food or beverage containers.
- All parties who contract with Camden shall be prohibited from using polystyrene foam food and beverage contain- ers in Camden facilities or on Camden-funded projects within Camden.A. A retail vendor or food packager that is currently existing or is established in Camden before the effective date of this Article may be exempted from the provision of this Article prohibiting the use of polystyrene foam for a pe- riod of time to be determined by the Camden town manager or his/her designee if the retail vendor or food packag- er requests an exemption in writing from the town manager and demonstrates to the Camden town manager or his/her designee that compliance with the provision constitutes undue hardship for the retail vendor or food pack- ager. Undue hardship includes, but is not limited to, situations unique to the food vendor that are not generally ap- plicable to other retail vendors or food packagers in similar circumstances. The Camden town manager or his/her designee shall make a written decision on each exemption request.Sec. 5—Violations and EnforcementViolations of this Article shall be civil violations which shall be punishable by fines as follows: (a) A fine not exceeding $250 for the first violation;
(b) A fine not exceeding $500 for the second and each subsequent violation;
(c) Payment of the Town’s legal fees for prosecution of each violation; and.Sec. 6—Effective Date.(b) This Article shall be automatically repealed if and as long as there is, as determined by the Camden select board by order, a developed and maintained effective town-wide recycling program approved by the Camden’s Public Works Director for polystyrene foam food and beverage containers.(NOTE: Trigger mechanisms like these in Article 6 (b) and (c) are not favored. It can be confusing to have the Select Board repeal what he votes have appproved and it can be seen as an unalwful delegation of legislative power. When the Ordiannce becomes obsolete, the best thing to do is have the voters repeal it.) - Sec. 7—Severability
- (c) This Article shall be automatically repealed on the day, as determined by the select board by order, that statewide legislation or federal legislation goes into effect incorporating either the same or substantially similar provisions as are contained in this Article or in the event, as determined by the Select board by order, that a perti- nent Maine or federal administrative agency enacts regulations preempting such action.
- (a) This Article shall become effective on January 1, 2019.
- (d) Violators shall be subject to such injunctive relief as is reasonably necessary to prohibit future violations of any person or entity found in violation of this ordinance..
- The Camden Police Chief or his/her designeeDepartment shall have the primary responsibility for enforcement of this Article. If the Ppolice Enforcement Official determines that a violation of this Article has occurred, he/she shall issue a written warning Nnotice to the retail vendor or food packager describingthat a violation has occurred, and Ordering it to cease within 7 days. Subsequent violations of the Article after failure to cease the violation(s)shall be subject to the penalties set forth below.
- B. Retail vendors, food packagers, Camden departments, Camden facilities, and Camden contractors are exempt from the provisions of this Article in a situation deemed by the Camden town manager, in his/her sole discretion, to be an emergency for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, or welfare.
- Sec. 4— Exemptions
If any part or provision of this Article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Article, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this Article are severable.
The proposed ordinance amendments are:
# 1) An amendment to Article VIII Section 7 Traditional Village District (V):
A change being made in order to facilitate the reuse of the Mary Taylor building. Instead of reclassifying the entire Knowlton Street lot as Neighborhood Business District (B-4) the proposal is now presented as a change to the Village District that adds most of the uses available in the B-4 to buildings in the V District as Special Exceptions but only in “publicly-owned public school buildings as of 2018.” (A copy of the B-4 District outlining the uses currently permitted is attached as well – these are the uses that could become available in the MET building if this amendment is passed.)
#2) An amendment to Article X Performance Standards Part II Section 4 Off-Street Parking:
This proposal changes parking requirements for residential uses by reducing the spaces needed per unit in the downtown districts where the area is more walkable, and for Congregate Living Facilities and senior housing where parking requirements far exceed the actual need. Other minor changes are also included.
The full agenda follows:
a. Request from Camden Public Library to close Atlantic Avenue on Saturday, September 8th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm for the annual Maker Faire
b. Request from Mid Maine Sports Car Club to closed Chestnut Street on Sunday, September 2nd for the 17th Annual Camden Foreign Car Show
c. Consideration of use of Village Green on September 7-17, 2018 for an Art Exhibition as part of the Camden International Film Festival
d. Consideration of use of Village Green on September 4, September 25 and October 19, 2018 for cruise ship visits scheduled by the Penobscot Bay Chamber of Commerce
e. Consideration of renewal victualer licenses: 1) Seadog Brewing at 1 Main Street
2) Elms of Camden at 84 Elm Street
f. Appointment to the Midcoast Economic Development District General Assembly – Audra Caler-Bell
6. Discharge of Mortgage Deed - CDBG Housing Grants from Lupine Terrace Subdivision Properties
7. Presentation by Jim Guerra, Manager of Midcoast Solid Waste, and Owen Casas, Chair of the Midcoast Solid Waste Board of Directors
8. Public Hearings on Ordinances for November Special Town Meeting Vote a. Single Use Bags
b. Polystyrene Containers
9. Presentation from Director of Planning & Development for proposed zoning amendments for the November Special Town Meeting & Setting a Public Hearing Date
10. Discussion on Charter Changes & Setting a Public Hearing Date
11. Public Hearing for renewal liquor licenses:
a. Grand Harbor Inn at 14 Bay View Landing for a Class I Restaurant Liquor License b) Hoxbill/Kurafuto at 5 Bay View Landing for a Class I Restaurant Liquor License
