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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Forum Docs Submitted 1 TO: Mayor Stromberg & Ashland City Councilors FROM: Nina Gillespie, Eqvironment Oregon Preservation Intern C July 16, 2013 My name is Nina Gillespie and I am the Preservation Intern at Environment Oregon, here representing our hundreds of members in Ashland in support of protecting wildlife habitat on the Rogue River and in the Pacific Ocean with a plastic bag ban. First and foremost, thank you all for letting me speak this evening and for engaging with us on this topic, as we want to work with you on the important issue of banning single-use plastic bags. 500 CITIZENS & NEARLY 100 BUSINESSES I wanted to provide for you tonight a brief update on the support for a plastic bag ban. You are already aware of the 100 businesses that support the ban, including the Northwest Grocery Association that represents the major grocery stores, such as Albertson's and Safeway. As of Monday, we have collected over 500 citizen petitions, and we will continue to run a public education campaign to talk to people and businesses about the issue. We also are working with Rogue Riverkeeper and Jackson County Master Recyclers who are in support of the campaign. A PACIFIC OCEAN DISASTER I have brought along a sample of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that we have been talking so much about, to give you a better idea of what this ocean pollution looks like. This is from an organization called the Five Gyres Institute. As you can see this plastic does not biodegrade. This is just a tiny sample of the 100 million tons floating in the ocean, causing harm to thousands of marine animals and birds as it grows larger. Ashlanders agree that nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our environment for hundreds of years. We can begin to make real progress by banning single-use plastic bags in the state, and Ashland can be a leader on this in Southern Oregon. A PROBLEM FOR OREGON RECYCLERS Ashland has a legacy of standing up to polluting products when they put our environmental health at risk, having already passed a Styrofoam ban ordinance. Once again, Ashland is faced with an opportunity to rid our recycling system of something it cannot process and that is costly to extricate from the waste stream, and which moreover, is seriously harmful to the environment. Plastic bags are not recyclable in Oregon, and recent news reports that China will no longer take the less than 5% of them that actually got shipped there to be recycled. The plastic bag problem is too enormous and the solution just too simple to wait any longer. Ashland can once again lead by taking action to ban plastic checkout bags entirely. We would like the Council to refer the issue to the Conservation Commission for consideration. On behalf of our members, thank you again for letting me speak today, and for communicating with us on the issue, and I look forward to working with you further towards a solution for Ashland. Environment Oregon http://www.environmentoregon.org 15365E 11' St https:Hwww.facebook.com/enviroregon Portland OR (503) 231-1986 Good evening: / a~r~' n„m V D I I'm Rhonda Lee and I have lived in Ashland for OAkover 30 years. On June 28'" I received a disturbing registered letter from the city reporting that I should immediately cease and desist in providing short term lodging for traveler's to Ashland. The letter threatened citations, continued surveillance of the Airbnb cite I have used as a host since November, and immediate cancellation of any pending reservations. I was shocked and terrified. H I am a high school English teacher and just retired in June after 28 years in education. I don't get the aljsvim(i 9 paper and had\ o idea I was violating any city ordinance at my R-1 location. I placed an anxiety ridden call to Amy Gunter the originator of the letter. My first question was how do I comply? She reported there was no way I could comply. I was stunned and confused. Amy reported on zoning laws, the production of too much garbage, increased traffic, and the significant amount of money we were all making providing this kind of lodging. I asked about the fine. She did not answer that question, but did cite a $21,000 litigation that was in process. Again, more fear. The conversation ended with her reporting that continued non-compliance would result in the monitoring of streets, photos taken of vehicles in front of suspected homes and the license plate numbers used to contact the owner of the vehicle to be used as witnesses in court against me. Quite frankly, at that point I theughtl GuerJ hytl t a{/( s 7 q6 I was so upset. I didn't sleep that night. If the objective of the city and council is to create a culture of fear for its citizens through this flood of threatening letters and communication from city representatives; then I must say to you, mission accomplished. My question is why? Why in this much loved small town that prides itself on openness, -5U J, collaboration, and out of the box thinking and action would you pursue >tact with your citizens? st of us are unknowing violators. I would ask this: tone down the rhetoric of the letters, and the process. Provide 30 day notices/warnings so that we can give our guests a heads up. As a teacher, 1 always gave my students a warning when some criteria had been violated. It's called a best practice in education. The citizens of this community deserve no less than this best practice. I did cancel reservations, and honestly told my guests why. The taste of Ashland they were left with and their responses were not positive. I also ask tonight that R-1 zoned areas be a significant part of future discussion within three months. UI :r,gG 440_44e- mayor oesdOm call a meeting of all interested R-1 stakeholders to begin conversation towards the use of R-1 short term rentals with smart, well-crafted regulations. We are a community of caring and thoughtful adults; let's proceed on that premise with conversation to find common ground. Thank you.