Smoke Emissions - Item#15 on 4/2/15 Agenda
Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:07 pm
Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and Council Members,
There have been a lot of questions circulating regarding Item #15 (Smoke Emissions) on this week’s Council Meeting Agenda. Therefore, CM Renteria has asked me to provide you with some information about the process he had envisioned as well as a brief outline of the changes that the resolution has undergone since it was first submitted.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the intent behind this resolution was never to put anyone out of business or to create unreasonable burdens for any business owner. It was, and still is, to protect the basic rights of families to comfortably live in and enjoy their homes without a vendor moving in and having a significant negative impact on their health and quality of life.
There may only be a relatively small number of families that are being affected, but for those residents and their children this is a real and very serious health issue that they have to live with on a daily basis. This issue is not about bad odors, casual weekend cookouts, or business owners that are good neighbors and respect the rights of the residents in their communities. This issue is about vendors that persistently and irresponsibly pump visible, thick smoke that contains particulate matter, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and sulfur dioxide, into neighboring houses with complete disregard for the residents and children that live there.
All that being said, CM Renteria understands the importance of some of the issues that have been brought up in the media recently regarding unintended consequences that the resolution could have. He expected and hoped that Council, working with City staff, would be able to address most of these concerns during the ordinance drafting process - while the resolution was simply meant to initiate this process. However, after listening to many comments and concerns, CM Renteria, in conjunction with the Co-Sponsors, has decided that it would be best to clarify some of these points in the resolution and to make the language a little more specific. The result of this is the Revised Backup for Item #15 that you received from the Agenda Office earlier today.
The changes reflected in the updated resolution are as follows:
1) The distance listed has been reduced from 150ft. to 100ft.
2) It has been made explicit that the distance will not be measured from the commercial property line to the residential one but rather from the physical location of the smoke-emitting stove or grill to the nearest residential property line.
3) The “smoke scrubber” mention has been removed to allow for more flexibility.
4) A direction for the City Manager has been included to initiate a stakeholder input gathering process to provide affected residents and business owners an opportunity to make recommendations and to incorporate these into the draft ordinance.
5) Finally, a direction for the City Manager has been included to present the proposed ordinance to the Planning Commission and Council’s Planning and Neighborhoods Committee for more thorough review.
Council Member Renteria is confident that passing this resolution and thus initiating a stakeholder input process with the resulting recommendations being considered by the appropriate commission and Council committee will yield a reasonable and well-thought-out product that works for everyone and an ordinance that fairly balances the interests of residents and business owners.
Thank you for your time,
David
There have been a lot of questions circulating regarding Item #15 (Smoke Emissions) on this week’s Council Meeting Agenda. Therefore, CM Renteria has asked me to provide you with some information about the process he had envisioned as well as a brief outline of the changes that the resolution has undergone since it was first submitted.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the intent behind this resolution was never to put anyone out of business or to create unreasonable burdens for any business owner. It was, and still is, to protect the basic rights of families to comfortably live in and enjoy their homes without a vendor moving in and having a significant negative impact on their health and quality of life.
There may only be a relatively small number of families that are being affected, but for those residents and their children this is a real and very serious health issue that they have to live with on a daily basis. This issue is not about bad odors, casual weekend cookouts, or business owners that are good neighbors and respect the rights of the residents in their communities. This issue is about vendors that persistently and irresponsibly pump visible, thick smoke that contains particulate matter, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and sulfur dioxide, into neighboring houses with complete disregard for the residents and children that live there.
All that being said, CM Renteria understands the importance of some of the issues that have been brought up in the media recently regarding unintended consequences that the resolution could have. He expected and hoped that Council, working with City staff, would be able to address most of these concerns during the ordinance drafting process - while the resolution was simply meant to initiate this process. However, after listening to many comments and concerns, CM Renteria, in conjunction with the Co-Sponsors, has decided that it would be best to clarify some of these points in the resolution and to make the language a little more specific. The result of this is the Revised Backup for Item #15 that you received from the Agenda Office earlier today.
The changes reflected in the updated resolution are as follows:
1) The distance listed has been reduced from 150ft. to 100ft.
2) It has been made explicit that the distance will not be measured from the commercial property line to the residential one but rather from the physical location of the smoke-emitting stove or grill to the nearest residential property line.
3) The “smoke scrubber” mention has been removed to allow for more flexibility.
4) A direction for the City Manager has been included to initiate a stakeholder input gathering process to provide affected residents and business owners an opportunity to make recommendations and to incorporate these into the draft ordinance.
5) Finally, a direction for the City Manager has been included to present the proposed ordinance to the Planning Commission and Council’s Planning and Neighborhoods Committee for more thorough review.
Council Member Renteria is confident that passing this resolution and thus initiating a stakeholder input process with the resulting recommendations being considered by the appropriate commission and Council committee will yield a reasonable and well-thought-out product that works for everyone and an ordinance that fairly balances the interests of residents and business owners.
Thank you for your time,
David