Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutcclc.ag.07202005COMMERCIAL CORE & LODGING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING SISTER CITIES MEETING ROOM CITY HALL JULY 20, 2005 8:30 a.m. I. Roll call and approval of July 6, 2005 minutes. II. Saturday Market Update - Maggie & Allegheny III. Recycle Information - Jannette Murison IV. BID V. Information A. Survey - outside vendors VI. Adjourn MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: THRU: DATE: RE: Commercial Corn Lodging Commission Jannette Whitcomb, Senior Environmental Health Specialist Lee Cassin, Environmental Health Director July 15, 2005 Recycling Ordinance Issues and Topics For several weeks staffhas worked on developing a response to the issues and topics that CCLC brought before staffabout the proposed recycling ordinance. Below is the result of many meetings with the City Attorney, waste haulers, CCLC members, Aspen business professionals, and recycling professionals. Contracts with Waste Haulers According to City Attorney John Worcester, when writing ordinances, a municipality must take care not to interfere with contracts between businesses. The following provision is required to protect existing waste hauling contracts. For haulers that have existing contracts, the recycling requirements do not become effective until the expiration date of the contract. 12.06. 020 Exemptions (b) The provisions of section 12. 06. 030 shall not apply to the collection of garbage or recyclable materials by a hauler when done pursuant to a contract in existence at the effective date of this ordinance. Evidence of a contract may be provided to the City Attorney by a written contract or other evidence satisfactory to the City Attorney. However, such contract cannot extend beyond its earliest possible termination date, at which time it will lose its exempt status. However, staff understands that some commercial establishments would like to renegotiate their contracts so they can band with other commercial establishments in their alley and have one waste hauler. This is still feasible over a period of time and Environmental Health staffwill work with all of the establishments to coordinate such sharing efforts. Franchising: One Hauler per Alley The City Manager has directed staff to develop a municipal trash and recycling system for the City of Aspen. This effort will be done in parallel with ordinance changes and will take a significant amount of time to finish. The City will set standards for haulers who contract with the city, which will include the same measures included in the recycling ordinance. In other words, haulers who might be awarded a contract for certain alleys would have to include recycling in their base rate of service, would not put yard waste in regular trash, would report on the amounts of recycling picked up, and would provide volume-based pricing. The City's efforts to help businesses combine containers, under the proposed recycling ordinance, will begin to reduce the number of containers in the alleys, and contracting/franchising will further this goal. Hours for Allowed Trash Pickup While this is an issue of its own, with or without a recycling ordinance, staff looked into not allowing waste haulers in the alleys until 7:30 am to remedy the noise concerns of downtown guests. A number of issues arose. First, CCLC members were not in unanimous agreement about whether trash haulers should be prohibited before 7:30 am, or whether they should come early enough to be completely out of the alleys by 9 or 9:30 am. Second, Tim Ware, Parking Director, stated that the waste haulers must be the first in and out of the alleys in the mornings. They need the whole alley to conduct their business. After 8:00 am, the delivery vehicles clog the alleys, so it is best if the waste haulers get in before the delivery trucks. Most haulers agree with Tim. One waste hauler stated that for every half hour delayed, it takes an hour longer to get through town because the alleys just get busier and more congested. This results in more idling, pollution, and noise in the alleys. Another hauler said that it is hard to have timing restrictions because there are so many variables affecting how much time it takes to collect everything. For example if they are blocked in an alley by a delivery truck, have a truck break down, or have to repair a dumpster, all these things slow down the time it takes to get through town and therefore a two-hour window would be limiting and make it hard to get their job done. In addition, if there is a request for an extra pick- up in the afternoon before a busy holiday, and they were prohibited from pickup after 9 or 10 am, they would not be able to provide frequent enough service and additional containers would be needed. Alternatively, if the alleys are clear they can get in and out quickly. Some businesses require twice a day pickup, and this is especially common where there are shared compactors that fill quickly. This would not be allowed if haulers were restricted after 9 or 10 am. This ongoing issue is one that CCLC may want to continue to discuss with other departments. What will the Alleys Look like with Recycling Each alley is unique in the many aspects from alley width to business/residential mix. Staff asked the haulers specific questions for five representative Aspen alleys, including the types of businesses they serve in each of the alleys, volumes of waste, who is recycling and the number of times they are in an alley collecting waste and recyclables. Much of this information is not included in this memo due to protection under the Colorado Open Records Act. However, we are able to present the final analysis of this information. Based on efficiency and smart business practices the alleys will not be filled with rows of recycling containers. Staffwill not know the exact number of containers until the ordinance is implemented. However, the most efficient way for a hauler to manage recycling for the commercial sector is to have six days a week. It will keep the number of containers to empty down and be the easiest for finding space in the alleys for the containers. It will also benefit the businesses for cleanliness, convenience and alley appearance. Due to time constraints for this memo and a need for further review by the City Attorney confirm we are not releasing proprietary information, the layouts of each individual alley, including current location of dumpsters and recycling bins as well as the areas identified as potential spaces for additional recycling containers, are not included at this time. Staff will bring to the meeting layouts of the five alleys included in the study: Sandy's Office Supply Alley, The Aspen Square, The Red Onion Alley, La Cocina Alley and Main Street Bakery Alley. 2 Traffic in the Alleys Traffic in the five alleys was analyzed with the same information used for the "Alley Look." Due to the lack of reporting and proprietary information, this analysis was limited by several unknown factors. These factors may become known once the ordinance is implemented. Staff was able to come up with a range of trip counts. The actual increase is probably somewhere in the middle. Trips counts differed between haulers based on two factors: the type of recycling truck they used and number of recycling containers. A hauler who utilizes an all-in-one manual recycling truck, which is able to pick up cardboard, commingled and newspaper in the same trip, results in less truck traffic in the alleys than a hauler who utilizes two mechanical recycling trucks - one which is only for cardboard and one that picks up commingled and newspaper. Haulers that provide fewer containers, based on space and quantity of recyclables diverted, will have more frequent pick up then a hauler that provides numerous containers. The estimated number of additional trips for the commercial sector would be between 4 and 13 per week. This is based on two types of trucks and varied space for containers. Pilot Commercial Recycling Project Due to the nature of contract law, as pointed out to CCLC by City Manager Steve Barwick, while a pilot project is not feasible, another alternative may meet the goal of adjusting the ordinance as needed. Based on the different contract expiration dates in existence, implementation of the ordinance will be phased. This will allow haulers time to adjust their pickups; businesses time to consider alternative haulers and sharing arrangements, and will allow staffto monitor progress and work with businesses and haulers to find the most efficient ways for them to meet recycle. Another aspect of the ordinance that could allow for phasing is the Material Recyclable List. The City could opt to require fewer commodities for recycling by the hauler the first year and then phase the other commodities. Cost of Reporting Recycling Rates Once waste haulers understood that they would be able to estimate the portion of their recycling from Aspen versus surrounding areas of Pitkin County, they were optimistic on their ability to report with existing resources. In other communities that have recycling reporting requirements, the waste haulers did not pass on any reporting costs to the customer. At the beginning, the only difficulty for these communities was helping the waste haulers with submitting the reports. This is something that over time staffwas able to overcome with waste haulers. Recycling as a Necessary Service If business owners and government officials were to view recycling as a necessary service or social good, such as road repair or clean air, then it does not need to generate revenue to be worthwhile. Schools and open space are other examples of services that the community values and supports but does not expect a profit. The City should still expect excellence in a recycling program. The success is in the recycling capture rate increasing, the increase in markets for recyclables, and preserving the County landfill as long as possible so Aspen's trash does not have to be hauled two or more counties away at increased financial and environmental cost. Government has proven that it can provide good streets, schools and parks to the community. Recycling is just another service that is necessary but comes with a cost. Just like the city parks come with a cost they also provide an invaluable environmental, community benefit that is difficult if not impossible to put a price on. 3 Does Recycling make Environmental Sense Studies by numerous environment groups indicate that the process of turning already existing products into new ones not only uses fewer natural resources, but also requires less energy consumption and fewer toxic chemicals. The following are just a few reasons why it makes environmental sense for Aspen to recycle: o Amber glass diverted by Aspen would reduce pollution from interstate transporting (sometimes all the way from Illinois) of needed glass cullet to the Coors bottling company in Denver. o Paper decomposition in the County landfill adds to its methane production polluting our air and increasing global warming. o Aluminum and steel cans sitting in the County landfill prevent the reduction in energy costs for the aluminum and steel industry by their need to increase the mining of raw materials. o Exporting trash out of Pitkin County when the landfill closes will triple the costs of disposal and increase the pollution and energy costs of Aspen's waste disposal. Recycling the following materials saves the stated quantities of energy Aluminum cans: 185 million Btu/ton LDPE: 24.1 million Btu/ton PET: 22.2 million Btu/ton Mixed plastics: 20.5 million Btu/ton Steel cans: 20 million Btu/ton HDPE: 19 million Btu/ton Newspapers: 16.5 million Btu/ton Corrugated cardboard: 13 million Btu/ton Office paper: 10.1 million Btu/ton Mixed paper: 6.7 million Btu/ton Glass bottles: 2.1 million Btu/ton *Note: There are 5.8 million British thermal units (Btu) in a barrel ofoil and 0.125 million Btu in a gallon of gasoline. The Economics of Recycling As the Pitkin County landfill fills up, Pitkin County has to find a new place to dump their garbage and as nobody wants a landfill in their backyard, it gets harder and harder to find locations, which will drive up the price, require more fuel, and generate more air pollution. For example, Toronto, Canada is having trouble finding new landfill sites right now and has been dumping its garbage 4 hours away in Michigan, which greatly increases their disposal costs. Chris Hoofnagle, site manager at the County landfill, suspects the cost for trash disposal in Pitkin County will triple once the County landfill closes. This is based on the distance Aspen's waste will have to travel. However, recycling costs will not change since the Materials Recovery Facility will continue to operate at the landfill. In most cases in the country, communities increase their recycling efforts the further their trash has to travel for disposal. New York City is a good example when looking at the economics of recycling for a municipality. With the closing of the Fresh Kills Landfill and the occurrence of the September 11th tragedy, the City was looking at a substantial budget deficit, thus they needed to have budgetary cuts. They did a financial assessment to determine if recycling continued to make financial sense. Initially, the government determined they could save a lot of money by eliminating it. So they did. Several years later the City brought recycling back to the community. 4 This remarkable turnaround is due in part to a greater recognition that recycling is more cost- effective than some observers originally thought. Analyses by the city comptroller's office and environmental advocates revealed that the controversial recycling suspensions did not save the $40 million that the Sanitation Department had predicted. In fact, the gap between the cost of recycling and waste disposal has shrunk by more than 85 pement in the last decade, due primarily to increase recycling rates and skyrocketing trash export expenses. In a February 7 (2003) letter to the DOS Commissioner, NYC Comptroller William Thompson requested a full reinstatement of the recycling program, finding no logical reason to continue the cuts. It is important to remember that government supports a lot of services that the free market wouldn't provide, such as the delivery of running water, electricity, and mail to our homes. Unlike most public services, recycling does function with in the market economy, and quite successfully. In addition, if the market were truly free, long-standing subsidies that favor virgin materials and landfills would not exist, and recycling could compete on a level playing field. The Biggest Challenge for Recycling in Aspen: Getting to the Market With all the focus on monetary concerns, it is easy to forget that the main purpose of recycling is not cost reduction but conservation and stewardship. It offers the hope of reducing air pollution from methane released by the landfill, stopping the degradation of land and ground water from landfills, cutting down fewer trees for paper and having [ess reliance on petroleum for plastics. Recycling is a community good just like clean air and parks. However, the costs of transporting recyclables to re-processors and markets, which are largely metropolitan based, is a challenge for most rural areas, including Aspen. There are not that many trucking companies targeting the recycling industry. However, many of the trucking companies handle recyclables strictly as a backhaul arrangement. The backhaul operation is when after a track delivers its primary material it then loads a recyclable material for delivery. Trucks are typically able to carry a shipment weight at around 40,000 pounds. This equates to 20 tons. Aspen could make the economics of transporting more favorable by taking several steps to increase its capture rate and provide larger volumes of recyclable material for Pitkin County to broker with the trucking companies. In addition, if Pitkin County began separating the commingled material, such as plastics, they could be bailed and increase volumes for transportation. Another step that would reduce the subsidy for recycling is only diverting amber-colored glass, not all glass. This would increase what Coors bottling company will pay us for our glass from $500 to $ 1000 per truckload. This would be enough to provide the potential for a small profit instead of requiring a significant subsidy. Recycling: It is more than just a feel good measure o The number of landfills in the United States is steadily decreasing--from 8,000 in 1988 to 1,858 in 2001. The capacity, however, has remained relatively constant. Recycling is largely responsible for maintaining space in Pitkin County's landfill. Landfill fees have increased 300% on average nationally from 1986-1996, and they are expected to increase 7% per year in the future. This estimate was made in 1997, BEFORE the waste industry consolidation. 5 Recycling has many more benefits than reduced landfill use, the chief of which are the conservation of natural resources (trees, oil, minerals, etc.), reduced energy consumption, and the pollution and environmental impact associated with them (clear-cutting, oil drilling, mining, burning coal to melt steel, etc.). Scrap steel has become the steel industry's single largest source of raw material because it is economically advantageous to recycle old steel into new steel. Rapid industrial development, particularly in China and other Asian nations, has created a huge surge in demand for recyclables. Compactors for Recycling Staffhas researched for a compactor that could be used for recycling. While baling and recycling compactors exist, they are not designed for multiple users such as placing one in an alley that all businesses can use. Recycling compactors, as it was explained by one company, need people to work the compaction and manually bailing or bagging of the material. These compactors were designed for single, large business, such as hotels and business complexes. Staff is still interested in this idea and will work to find such a unit that can be placed in a downtown Aspen alley as a pilot project. Education Plan Staff is working on an aggressive, forward-thinking education campaign. One of the issues it will address is the established myth that the recyclables get put into the landfill. A brochure was developed to begin busting this myth. In addition, staff plans to develop a video demonstrating what happens to Aspen's mcyclables once they get picked up. The video will show the trucks going up the landfill road, but then emptying their contents at the Materials Recovery Facility next to the landfill and showing them getting processed for transport to end markets. The video will be run on GrassRoots TV and hopefully other locations such as Channel 16. It is important to mention the commitment that staff has towards Aspen's recycling and working with the businesses. The Environmental Health Department has half of a staff person's time dedicated to recycling efforts. Her number one task is working with the businesses and landlord's to make recycling part of their everyday business. We will develop the necessary tools that the businesses need to recycle, including incentives for businesses, space for containers, and employee trainings. I/'l~ 6 Red Onion Alley Current Traffic: 13 trips/week Potential Traffic: 17 trips/week Space along Bldg F for 90's Add R-c, R-n, garages potential for R-c, R-o, R-n space understai~: i '[ Space a ong Wall? R-cb Add: 2R-c [ Galena St. [Mill St. Add: R-c, R-o, R-n I Cooper ~space along walls J ~ :~i;~lAdd: 2 R-c Trash J compac or Legend: I Right of way T Location of current dumpsters R-c Location of current commingled recycling container R-o Location of current office paper recycling container R-n Location of current newspaper recycling container R-cb Location of current cardboard recycling ~ Areas identified as potentail space to locate additional containers Add: The type and number of containers we feel could be added based o~ the type of business. Sandy's Alley Current Traffic: 6 trips/week Potential Traffic: 15 trips/week Gravel/shrub ar~ Add: R-c TL Add: R-cB T~Space along wall of loading dock Add: R-cb, R-o, R-c, R-n ~ial waste container for doctor's office area for a shelf for cardboard Add: R-cb, 2R-c space in front of stairs Add: R-c, R-o, R-n Add: 2R-c, R-cb [Hunter St. J R-O Legend: I ;Right of way T Location of current dumpsters R-c Location of current commingled recycling container R-o Location of current office paper recycling container R-n Location of current newspaper recycling container R-cb Location of current cardboard recycling ~ Areas identified as potentail space to tocate additional containers Add: The type and number of containers we feel could be added based on the type of business. Aspen Square Alley Current Traffic: 13 trips/week Potential Traffic: 15 trips/week Add: R-n, 2R-c, R-o I I Hunter IDurant ] ILegend: I Alley Bounday Location of current trash receptacles R-c Location of current commingled recycling container R-o Location of current office paper recycling container R-n Location of current newspaper recycling container R-cb Location of current cardboard recycling ~1 Areas identified as potentail space to locate additional containers Add: The type and number of containers we feel could be added based on the type of business. Main Street Alley Current Traffic: 27 trips/week Potential Traffic: 40 trips/week Monarch St I Add R-c[ IMain Street I R-n R-C R-C IR-nIT Gravel/grass area Add 2R-c, R-n, ~, R-n, R-cb, R-o IHopkins Ave. * Private homes with ~garage space __ Add: R-c, R-cb, R-n Aspen St I Legend: I Right of way T Location of current dumpsters R-c Location of current commingled recycling container R-n Location of current newspaper recycling container R-o Location of current office paper recycling container R-cb Location of current cardboard recycling ~ Areas identified as potentail space to locate additional containers Add: The type and number of containers we feel could be added based on the type of business. La Cocina Alley Current Traffic: 23 trips/week Potential Traffic: 34 trips/week Mill Street Add Shelf for cb Room for add'l 9015 [Main Street Unknown enclosed in garage Unkown Recycling R-C ~Add: R-o, R-c Bank Drive-thru R-c, R-Cb T IR'c IR-c I Monarch St. Le~lend: I Right of way ]' Location of current dumpsters R-c Location of current commingled recycling container R-o Location of current office paper recycling container R-n Location of current newspaper recycling container R-cb Location of current cardboard recycling ~ Areas identified as potentail space to locate additional containers Add: The type and number of containers we feel could be added based the type of business. SURVEY-OUTSIDE VENDORS July, 2005 Avon--Our code currently does not allow such outside vending. If our Council wanted to allow it, we believe it would be a simple amendment to our peddler license provision or we could create a new type of license. The truth is, we've never been faced with the question. Breckeuridge--In Breckenridge we have regulations prohibiting the outdoor display of merchandise in specific areas of town (mostly downtown). It does not specifically address services. I can not f'md anything in our current Town Code that specifically discusses services performed outdoors. Crested Butte--We don't allow it - outdoor sales are specified and controlled by Ordinance. Dillon--We do not have a process for permitting outdoor service related industries. We do run a farmer's market in one of the Town owned parking lots, but we have never had a business that did not sell a product as opposed to simply a service. Furthermore, the Town has never permitted a hotdog vendor or a similar business to be run out ora free- standing tent or cart - although there has been some discussion recently of allowing these types of vendors in the hope of increasing pedestrian activity in our downtown. In Durango, we allow for outside sale of goods within approved structures, but do not allow for the sale of services like fortune telling, massages, etc. However, we do allow for jeep tours, river trips, and time share sales within these approved structures. The City attempted to regulate these types of issues in the early 1990s but the City Council at the time could not agree on an approach, so we function under some code provisions along with some policies. If you need anything further, please feel free to ask. Greg Hoch, P&CD Director Grand Lake--Not allowed on public property. Snowmass Village-- Outside vendor carts or booths selling product and/or providing services are technically only authorized when part of an over-all PUD approval, by administrative temporary use permit (up to 10 days) or by annual temporary use permit (up to 1 year). The application may be submitted by a specific vendor (with landowner approval) or numerous carts and booths may be authorized in conjunction with a permit for a larger scale event. The temporary use application is evaluated for compliance with the following standards: (1) Use shall be appropriate. The proposed temporary use shall be appropriate in the particular location, taking into consideration the nature of the use, its relationship to sur- rounding land uses and its impact with respect to environmental, social and economic matters. (2) Use shall comply with policies and regulations. The proposed temporary use shall comply with the Town's adopted policies and regulations, and shall not violate any applicable state, county or federal laws. (3) Applicant's skills and experience. The applicant shall demonstrate that he or she possesses the requisite skill and experience to ensure that the particular activity will be conducted in a safe and orderly manner. (4) Written approval. The applicant shall obtain written approval from all reviewing agencies having jurisdiction over the proposed temporary use. The major controlling factor in the Snowmass Mall has been landowner approval. Conditions are usually applied to the permit to address potential impacts or issues ..... Please feel free to call me or email should you have questions or require additional information. Say "Hi" to Tim for me - haven't seen him for a long time. Chris C. Conrad Phone: (970) 923-5524 X 637 Silverthome--Our Town code does not separate types of temporary vendors (ie. retail from services). However, the applicant must fill out an application to the Com Dev Dept.- this is for any business operating outside of its walls including existing businesses (having a tent sale for example). The application mainly outlines adequate parking, circulation, trash, bathrooms, property owner permission, limited number of days of operation, and signange (that is regulated by Town Code). The application must meet code standards and be approved by the Com Dev Dept. You can find more information on this on our website- www.silverthorne.org by searching the Town Code for Section 4-4-26. In addition, the application must apply for a Town business license since Silverthome is a Home Rule Charter which costs $75. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me at (970) 262-7363. Julia Skurski-Town of Silverthorne Steamboat--Steamboat Springs has a permit that allows for outside sales for up to 21 consecutive days. You can get only one such permit a year. Our Main Street board has asked that we not issue any vendor permits this year, as Main Street would like to propose new regulations for next year that will allow vendors who add to the retail vitality but who do not compete with stores that pay rent and taxes. Telluride--Telluride does not have any services being sold on the sidewalk at this time, only goods, but we would consider it when evaluating applications. Vendors are selected on a competitive basis by our vending committee, a sub-committee of the Town Council, for five designated sites.We came close to selecting a tour booking booth last season, but did not allow it as many of our established sport shops do tour bookings. Also, several years ago someone wanted to set up a massage chair on our main street and our town attomey ruled it was not in the spirit of our vending law. The majority of vendors who apply for our vending sites seem to wantto sell products. If you would like to have a copy of our vending ordinance faxed to you, please email me your fax number. Winter Park--In Winter park outside vending only allowed on private property with the issusance of a special use permit by the planning commission. Very concerned about competion with existing businesses that have overhead etc. DARYL Estes Park: Our code specifically prohibits outside sales of any type within the downtown zoning district. However we do allow craft fairs and side walk sales as special events. In our other zoning districts we issue temporary use permits (up to 60days) for seasonal sales such as spring flowers and Christmas trees. Also, outside display and sales can be accessory to established businesses.