Committee Report #1 - Jan 13, 2020 Cambridge City Council
The Ordinance Committee held a public hearing on Dec 10, 2019 beginning at 3:00pm in the Sullivan Chamber.
Present: Carlone (Chair), Devereux, Mallon, Siddiqui, Zondervan
The ordinance committee will conduct a public hearing on the following items: A petition to amend Articles 2.00 and 4.32 of the zoning ordinance regarding Mobile Fueling; and a petition to amend Articles 8.12.010 of the Municipal Code regarding Fuel Pump Warning Label Amendment.
A. Hearing on mobile fueling
Councillor Dennis Carlone 6:27
Welcome, everyone. Thank you, John. We have a quorum today. And the call of the hearing is as follows the Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing on the following items. A petition to amend articles 2.00 and 4.32 of the zoning ordinance regarding mobile fueling and a petition to amend articles 8.12.010 of their municipal code regarding fuel pump warning label amendment.
Excuse me.
This hearing is, as you heard, being audio and video recorded. There is an attendee and speaker signup sheet, although we might not be proceeding that far as I'll explain on the first one. The format of the meeting is the petitioner will be heard first, city staff... on the first one primarily the law department... will speak. What is interesting about this first petition, on mobile fueling, is the law department has a recommendation that really would make this meeting ineffectual. So it is a preliminary meeting, that will lead to the next step. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to have, if it's the vice mayor, just give a quick overview. And then the legal department will come forth and present their recommendations which actually will lead to a rethinking of how this is approached.
Madam Vice Mayor.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 8:36
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay. So, about... probably a year ago, a resident contacted me and brought to my attention that there were new... a new class of business that operated sort of by app, and they were offering so called mobile on demand fueling and the idea is you could, you know, just summon somebody to come and pump gas for your car and this resident said, "Gee, that sounds kind of like not such a great idea." And so I checked with our fire chief. And at that point we hadn't heard anything about these businesses and then started to hear a little bit more about them. And I guess it's, you know, it's a new segment of the technology business sort of, and I guess there's probably some venture capital money going into it. And so... Actually the state... Fire... is it right... Marshal, right, looked into it. When we were first contacted, the State Fire Marshal had not, at that point, looked into it. They looked into it, and basically are leaving it to the discretion of cities and towns to decide how they want to handle it. Our Fire Chief, I won't speak for him, has been not very enthusiastic about it. But I spoke with Councillor Kelly, from a public safety standpoint about whether we should just put in a prohibition against having this on, on the theory that it's not really that needed in Cambridge given the size of our city. And that there are certainly legitimate concerns about who is handling a highly flammable substance like gasoline, the potential for spilling and why we would even have trucks driving around to deliver gas when it's really not that hard to go to a gas station and fill up your car. So anyway, so Councillor Kelly at that point, and I'm sorry he's not here suggested that we amend the zoning ordinance to make it a use that is not allowed city wide, which sounded like a brilliant idea. And I trusted his knowledge of how to go about amending an ordinance and now the city solicitor has informed us that in fact, that wasn't the right approach because the zoning ordinance can't be used that way. And it should have been an amendment to the municipal ordinance, which, on a side note, I think, again, underscores the fact that the council really could use a closer connection somehow with the law department so that we don't spin our wheels, so to speak. So, you know, maybe we should have checked in advance or, you know, whatever. So anyway, so now we have the memo from the city solicitor, which very kindly does suggest how we could go about amending the municipal ordinance to achieve the same goal, which is to basically say, we're not going to allow these mobile on demand, fueling apps. So that's kind of where we are, and I'm happy to hear from staff.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 11:45
So just wanted to say before we have Arthur come up. I'm joined today by the vice mayor. Vice Mayor Devereaux, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Mallon, Councillor Siddiqui and I am Dennis Carlone. We have representatives from community development, the fire department, Public Works, traffic, Parking and Transportation, and of course the law department. So Arthur, even though the vice mayor gave an overview of your recommendations, perhaps you could go over it a little bit more. And basically what it says is that, instead of having the meeting today, we will have a future meeting, as you recommend. Please. Welcome.
Arthur Goldberg, Deputy City Solicitor 12:32
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the vice mayor, did summarize the legal opinion that we gave to the committee. That this really is not appropriate for a zoning ordinance because zoning cannot regulate what goes on in the public ways. Number one, and number two, even on private property, the fueling of a car would not be considered a use under zoning. So... the... but we do believe that what you're trying... what you appear to be trying to accomplish here could be done by way of a general ordinance amendment to the municipal code. So we propose possible language for the committee to consider. One issue that I think you were just alluding to is that this meeting was advertised as a meeting on a potential zoning ordinance. So, if the committee is in agreement that you wouldn't be going forward with a zoning amendment, then I think meeting on the general ordinance would have to be a different meeting.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 13:55
Thank you for that and thank you for a well written comment on the proposal. Now we could have other staff members talk but in considering their time is very important, I think we will hold off unless the fire department, DPW or or any of the departments wish to come forth with comments. We'll wait until we come back, hopefully in the early part here. I don't see anybody eagerly wanting to go forth. Any comments.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 14:35
Only from the procedural standpoint, I understand that the zoning thing is is moot at this point. So can we as a committee vote to send to the recommended language to the council for consideration in the future as an amendment to the municipal ordinance. Do we... Can we take any action today or do we have to say we'll save this memo and deal with it? Some other time?
Arthur Goldberg, Deputy City Solicitor 15:01
Well, I think... Through you, Mr. Chair. I think the action would be on the zoning amendment, which could be that... you are... that you recommend to the council that the zoning amendment be withdrawn based on the legal opinion that you've received. The issue with discussing the proposed general ordinance is that it really wasn't advertised as being part of the agenda for this meeting.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 15:38
I see. I mean, I'm happy to withdraw the zoning thing, I just wonder if... by sending it to the council, it could just be placed on a future agenda doesn't, necessarily mean that it's, I don't know, maybe the clerk can explain what that would mean; sending it to the council. Would this committee... This committee will have report right? Can it have just an order in it that says... you know, at a council meeting: "Now consider this language."
Anthony Wilson, City Clerk 16:08
So I think there are two things that would happen to get to where I think you're trying to go Vice Mayor Devereux. One is you refer the petition back to the city council with a negative recommendation or recommendation to withdraw. And then, Two, you could include a policy order to have the council amend the ordinance to reflect the language in the Solicitor's opinion.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 16:37
That sounds like a good plan.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 16:40
Councillor Zondervan please?
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 16:43
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And if you would indulge, I would like to have a brief discussion with the fire chief about whether we need such an ordinance at all or not.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 17:04
Welcome, Chief.
Gerard E. Mahoney, Chief of the Fire Department 17:06
Thank you. Good afternoon.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 17:11
The question is do we need any kind of ordinance or does state law... I assume what you're saying does state law trump anything that we need.
Gerard E. Mahoney, Chief of the Fire Department 17:24
So, without having the actual text of the regulation in front of me my best recollection of the new fire prevention regulation that has been promulgated by the Commonwealth is that any individuals or corporations or businesses that wish to provide this type of mobile fueling service anywhere in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts must first obtain a permit from the State Fire Marshal's Office and secondly, obtain a permit from the head of the local fire department. Which in this case by statute, I currently serve as the head of the local fire department for all kinds of issues dealing with state fire regulations. If the way it was explained to me at a meeting I attended, not so long ago, at the State Fire Marshal's Office was that if the local head of the fire department refuses to grant this permit in their particular community, the company applying for said permit will be unable to even if the State Fire Marshal has signed that permit. So for example, the ABC fueling company could get a permit from the fire marshal and apply to provide the service and say six communities in the Commonwealth. And if one fire chief or head of the fire department in one of those six community says no and the others say yes, they may provide the service and those communities but in the community Which the head of the fire department has said no, they may not provide the service.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 19:06
Did you want to follow up?
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 19:09
Yes, thank you. And in addition to that, it's my understanding that they would have to pre-arrange the location that they would provide the service. So you would have to approve even if you said they're permitted to provide the service for each customer, they would have to obtain permission to provide the service.
Gerard E. Mahoney, Chief of the Fire Department 19:33
Through you, Mr. Chair, I don't believe so. But again, with not having the text in front of me, I would want to research the text a little more closely to give you a more accurate answer, but my understanding is, the head of the fire department would be granting permission for that particular individual or business to conduct this operation anywhere within the boundaries of their city or town or fire district.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 20:02
Right. Then the City Solicitor's opinion gave some further restrictions. So it says, "mobile fueling operations and delivery vehicle parking shall be prohibited... prohibited in buildings and covered parking structures on public streets and in public ways. It also provides mobile fueling shall not take place within 25 feet of buildings, property lines, combustible storage, and when mobile fueling cars within 25 feet of a storm drain, a storm recover approved by the fire department shall be used to protect the storm drain. The Fire Safety Code also provides the fire department can require a site specific safety and emergency response plan for locations where mobile fueling is authorized for purposes of ensuring that fueling operations are conducted in a safe manner that is acceptable to the fire department." So it seems like there is a lot of leeway there too regulate where in how it takes place. Even if we were to say that, in general, it could be allowed.
Gerard E. Mahoney, Chief of the Fire Department 21:04
Through you, Mr. Chair, I believe you are correct Councillor that one of the enforcement tools that the head of the fire department would have is that any specific... any site specific, you know, an office park has it has a parking garage or a large parking lot. We could require that facility or property owner to submit a safety and emergency response plan if we were to allow mobile fueling to take place on their property. And if they, either; A. were unable to provide a plan or they provided a plan that was deemed non satisfactory, we could deny the opportunity for fueling on that specific location.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 22:01
Thank you and, through you Mr. Chair, are you aware of any companies that are trying to provide this service in Cambridge?
Gerard E. Mahoney, Chief of the Fire Department 22:10
Yes, through you Mr. Chair, there... I have received, by email, several different brochures, flyers, etc from different companies. This is something that is kind of taking off throughout the country. I know that there is some pending litigation out on the west coast. I believe the city of Seattle, Washington is currently engaged in some litigation with one of the services. Again, as the vice mayor stated, she brought this to my attention, I think a little over a year ago. I immediately brought it to the attention of the State Fire Marshal. A cease and desist order was issued to two companies that were doing this in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We... they actually found out that one of the companies when they asked where the vehicle, the fueling vehicle was being stored. It was discovered it was being stored in the driveway between two three storey wood framed dwellings in a community outside of Boston, the fire chief in that community was pretty upset when he found out about it. And the vehicle was ordered to be removed from that location immediately. The marshal's office did tell me that what they did discover was that, at that time, the fire prevention regulations did not adequately address this particular issue. Those regulations are periodically reviewed for a whole sundry of issues, changes in technology and so forth. They realized there was a gap, they identified the gap and they took steps to close the gap which I think they did a pretty good job with. And I mean, I'm sure as is the case with a lot of things there may be some legal challenges posed, but I think they've done a pretty good job in crafting a regulation that provides a lot of authority to the local jurisdictions to say, hey, look at, you know, this thing may work in a more suburban community that, you know, doesn't have some of the issues that a place like Cambridge does. But when you're going to close... when you're in a very densely, built up, community such as Cambridge, this is something that is neither, in my opinion, practical, nor safe.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 24:39
Thank you.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 24:42
Vice Mayor, did you want to follow up?
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 24:45
Well, yeah, I mean, I appreciate the fire chiefs explanation and Councillor Zondervan's question. I think his question was, do we need an ordinance? We're hearing that our current acting fire chief would not approve any of these applications. I guess the question is, to be safe, should we have something on the books so that... you know... future Fire Chiefs have the same instructions? Because we don't know... You know, I don't know... So I guess I would... I would support doing what the clerk recommended which is to formally withdraw the zoning amendment and then have a policy order from this committee to the next council saying, we encourage you to amend the municipal ordinance to just make sure that we can't have this in Cambridge.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 25:34
I concur. Councillors, any other comments? So I see no other comments from staff or the council unless the fire chief wanted to add something. Or Arthur. No. So let's do it. I agree, and I... Why don't you propose exactly what you said, but... and we'll vote on that.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 26:09
Well, I guess what I said is I would make a motion to withdraw the proposed zoning amendment. Oh, what someone... Would you like to open public comment before we do this?
Councillor Dennis Carlone 26:22
Sure. Only for the press. John, welcome.
Unknown Speaker 26:27
Hi, Mr. Chair, John Hawkinson. I had two comments that seemed worth mentioning. One was the proposed ordinance as drafted, appears to say that if my car runs out of gas, I can walk to the nearest gas station, grab a jug and walk back to my car and because I'm not a commercial entity, that's fine, but I can't call AAA and ask them to bring me some gas. And I really wonder if that's intended, and how that comports with the current practice. And you might want to check with the fire chief on that. And secondly, as a matter of public policy, you guys are substituting your proposal to enact this ordinance that is consonant with the current state regulation seems to be substituting your judgment on safety issues for those of a future fire chief And that seems a weird thing to do. I would suggest it unnecessarily complicates the municipal code. And if in the future, the fire chief figures out a safe way to do this, that makes sense. Why should he have to ask you guys to amend the ordinance again, it seems superfluous or unnecessary, and I would caution against it. Thank you.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 27:44
Thank you. Any other public comments? Seeing none, I close public comment. I would agree with the vice mayor that we need to refer this back to the full council with a recommendation to withdraw based on the memo from the law department. So I move that. All those in favor say aye.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 28:08
Aye.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 28:09
Aye. That's unanimous. those against...
1. Zoning Amendment Articles 2.00 and 4.32 regarding opposition to permitting on-demand mobile fueling services to operate in Cambridge.
RESULT: REFERRED TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL WITH A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE PETITION BE WITHDRAWN.
Councillor Dennis Carlone
Sorry, I spoke too quickly. And the other is to put forth the policy order. That states that during the ordinance meeting, it was learned that the proposed ordinance was not indeed a zoning ordinance and a recommendation from the law department with wording for a municipal code amendment or change was proposed and was recommended for further discussion. Please.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 28:48
I mean, that sounds fine. And to John's comment, when the council discusses this, they can certainly ask the opinions of the staff about whether there needs to be some carve out for a AAA like service for emergency refueling in small quantities. And I'm sure they could put in something that helps future Fire Chiefs have discretion. I mean, you know, cross that bridge when we come to it.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 29:20
I totally agree. Yes, Councillor.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 29:24
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do agree. I agree with the vice mayor. I think there is a second reason that we're proposing this ordinance besides the safety hazard. And it's in the statement of purpose. The second sentence reads there is no compelling public interest in allowing such a service to operate in a city whose climate action goals are to decarbonize the transportation sector, by encouraging the use of sustainable mobility options, and electric vehicle technology. So we're not simply making a fire safety judgment, we're also saying that we don't believe there is a public interest in providing or allowing this type of service in our city.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 30:12
And where were you reading that?
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 30:14
Sorry, this is from the Solicitor's proposed ordinance amendment in the statement of purpose.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 30:22
I see. Thank you.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 30:24
So just to clarify that the reason we're doing this isn't purely for fire safety consideration.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 30:37
So, voting on the policy order to present the municipal code language to the full Council for consideration. All those in favor say aye.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 30:57
Aye.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 30:57
Aye.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 30:58
Those against. So that is anonymous.
Councillor Zondervan moved to send a policy order to the City Council that the Municipal ordinances of the City of Cambridge be amended to incorporate the proposed ordinance in the document titled `A communication was received from City Manager Louis A. DePasquale transmitting a Legal Opinion, regarding the proposed zoning amendments to Articles 2.000 and 4.32 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance regulating "Mobile Fueling"' which was received by the committee.
RESULT: Adopted
Councillor Dennis Carlone
Thank you. I believe that is the end of that meeting. Do I have to close the meeting to begin the next one? Okay, so I hereby close this hearing. Don't go away.
2. A communication was received from City Manager Louis A. DePasquale transmitting a Legal Opinion, regarding the proposed zoning amendments to Articles 2.000 and 4.32 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance regulating "Mobile Fueling"
RESULT: PLACED ON FILE 1
3. A communication was received from Joseph Okpaku, Chief Policy Officer at Booster Fuels, regarding the proposed Mobile Fueling Ordinance
RESULT: PLACED ON FILE
B. Hearing on Fuel Pump Warning Labels
Welcome to the next hearing. I read earlier the call to order and I'll just repeat it. The ordinance committee... I will repeat the portion that's appropriate... the ordinance committee will conduct a public hearing on the following item, a petition to amend article 8.12.010 of the municipal code regarding fuel pump warning label amendment. Now, I think this was also Councillor Kelley, who was the lead? Councillor Kelley had a family issue today and couldn't join us. So we're going to ask the vice mayor.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:12
I think it was actually me, but it doesn't...
Councillor Dennis Carlone 32:13
Oh.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:14
I really...
Councillor Dennis Carlone 32:15
I stand corrected.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:16
Ifs okay.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 32:17
I remember now it was the vice mayor.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:20
And some and I think Councillor Zondervan co-sponsored and maybe even you I don't know.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 32:24
I did.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:24
There was a policy order a while back
Councillor Dennis Carlone 32:26
About five years ago.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:28
Yeah. It seems like five years.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 32:30
Why don't you go ahead and just give an overview.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 32:33
Okay. So the idea of climate change warning labels is something that has originated on the west coast and in Sweden, and I think someplace else in Europe, where, as part of a sort of broader awareness campaign to reinforce the connection between fossil fuel consumption and climate change. Municipalities have been requiring the use of little placards that are actually attached to gas pumps that give a general warning. So we all have pictures of one that was sent to us by a guy, a grad student in the San Francisco area who has been advocating for this. And the... A while back, the city solicitor gave us a memo that said she felt that we would be within our rights to require such language on fuel pumps, so long as it was non-controversial. So, you know, sort of the wording here is and this is just a suggestion the US Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has determined that burning petroleum fuel contributes to climate change. There probably aren't too many people out there who haven't heard that, at some point in their life, I wouldn't call that controversial at this point. I believe in the policy order, we suggested that the Department of Public Health have the ultimate say over the language that would be used. So I think what we're talking about today is whether we can have this be a requirement and then leave it to staff to figure out what the placard should say, and how we would actually administer the program. We don't have a large number of gas stations in Cambridge. So we're not talking about hundreds of these things, and it would have to be done in conjunction with a broader, potentially social media campaign or something that would get people's attention. So, you know, I know that some people would say, it's not going to make any difference if you have gas burning car and you're at a service station, what choice do you have other than to put fuel in your car? Certainly true, but also true that we put warnings on all kinds of products that people use. And it's still worthwhile to remind people that products that they're using or consuming are dangerous to themselves and to others, and sometimes it does serve as a deterrent. And I think in the interest of the real imperative that we have to raise awareness about the impact that each of us have in our choices of how, how to get around, in this case, that it's, you know, it's a good thing to do so I would support moving it forward. Knowing unfortunately, that it won't be my responsibility to figure out how to implement it. Thank you.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 35:57
You might be surprised. I do think the analogy with cigarettes is a good one on billboards and whatever. And it isn't just the smoker. It's the smokers family. The kids who see it and they go, what why are you doing this? So I do think there's an impact. Now I know Mr. Goldberg has a question, but does any... do any of the remaining staff have any thoughts on this? That they wish to express? Okay, we thank you for your silence. Mr. Goldberg.
Arthur Goldberg, Deputy City Solicitor 36:40
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just had a question. Where were the proposed language references the Department of Public Health. Am I correct in assuming that is referring to the local department of public health or is that an attempt to refer to the State Department of Public Health?
Councillor Dennis Carlone 37:00
Madam Vice Mayor?
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 37:02
I would assume it would be the local one. And I'm open if there's another city department that is the more appropriate... and it could be in conjunction with community development, since they are doing all of our climate change modeling. I mean, we're talking about probably a maximum of 20 words. So, you know, I don't want to create a whole committee to write a sentence. So it's not really up to... It's up to the city manager to decide which of his staff he would like to charge with the wordsmithing of such a warning.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 37:43
Any other thoughts or questions? Mr. Goldberg?
Arthur Goldberg, Deputy City Solicitor 37:51
No, other than we would like to also review this language in some detail and then the law department... And I apologize that we have not actually done that prior to this meeting.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 38:04
Yes. Well, I can understand why the wording is really critical in doing this. Councillor Zondervan.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 38:17
And thank you Mr. Chair. Through you to Mr. Goldberg wouldn't it make more sense if we said, approved by the city manager and then they can... he or she can decide who the most appropriate departments are to approve it.
Arthur Goldberg, Deputy City Solicitor 38:34 You could do that then that is an option.
Through you, Mr. Chair, the law department is... would probably also want to at least review whatever language was being proposed. So it may provide more flexibility not to just designate one department.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 39:03
So you're agreeing with Councillor Zondervan, that through the city manager and his departments? Is that what you're suggesting?
Arthur Goldberg, Deputy City Solicitor 39:12
Yes.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 39:13
Okay. Any other comment? We will have any other clarifying questions? Excuse me, we might have a public comment. Any other clarifying questions? No, no, I see none. Is there any public comment? Please state your name and address, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. John Hawkinson. I did want to note that it would be great if memos from the law department were available four business days prior to the meeting in which they were discussed. Thank you.
Yeah, we agree.
Unknown Speaker 39:50
So I would encourage you to encourage that.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 39:53
Yes, we have. Vice Mayor.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 39:56
I'm recalling that when this was first proposed. We had a suggestion from the Massachusetts Sierra Club energies committee on some language which I could offer for future consideration. It's a little more detailed than what this one from California was. And I can, I'll send the language to the clerk but briefly, it just says this fuel contains carbon which is contributing to the worsening climate, the warming planet and rising seas, the City of Cambridge Climate Action Plan states, we must reduce carbon emissions from cars and other modes of transportation. So, you know, maybe that's too long to fit on a small thing, but it conveys both the connection to the burning of fossil fuel and global warning and the fact that the City of Cambridge has a climate action plan that is explicitly committed to doing what we can to reduce carbon emissions. So it does make that connection so I will send that sentence to the clerk and he can include that with the report for future consideration.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 41:21
Yes, please still we were just clarifying that it will be in the minutes as a recommendation by you. Any other thoughts? Councillor Zondervan.
Councillor Quinton Zondervan 41:34
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'll make a motion to amend the language that it says see manager instead of Department of Public Health.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 41:49
So all those in favor of the amendment. I thank you. I heard one aye, I was gonna say aye saw I'll assume it's unanimous. Yes.
1. Councillor Zondervan moved to amend the proposed ordinance by deleting the words "Department of Public Health" in the last paragraph and replacing it with the words "City Manager".
RESULT: ADOPTED
Councillor Dennis Carlone
Thank you. Nobody against any other thoughts. So, voting now. So let's see here this. So this... we're proposing to send this to the full council or are we holding it in committee? Hold it in committee. I mean, full Council, all those in favor of.. with a positive recommendation sending this to the full Council, please say aye.
Vice Mayor Jan Devereux 42:32
Aye.
Councillor Dennis Carlone 42:33
Those against. So that's unanimous. Thank you all for coming. This is the new kind of ordinance speedway that we're going to have from now on. We're going to get two meeting... two discussions done in 45 minutes. Thank you very much. I appreciate you all coming and we'll see you in the new year. Meeting is adjourned. There is another meeting at five. You're welcome to come back.
1. Fuel pump warning labels
RESULT: REFERRED AS AMENDED TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION
2. A communication was received from Vice Mayor Jan Devereux about fuel pump labels.
RESULT: PLACED ON FILED
The documents received by the committee may be viewed here: http://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=2566
For the Committee,
Councillor Dennis J. Carlone, Co-Chair
ORDER Jan 13, 2020
VICE MAYOR DEVEREUX
MAYOR MCGOVERN
COUNCILLOR CARLONE
COUNCILLOR ZONDERVANWHEREAS: The City of Cambridge is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of its response to the climate crisis; and
WHEREAS: An estimated 43% of emissions in Massachusetts come from transportation, and driving personal gasoline-powered vehicles causes a large portion of those emissions; and
WHEREAS: The City of Cambridge's Climate Action Plan states that in order to reach our sustainability goals, the City must actively pursue innovative methods to reduce vehicular emissions; and
WHEREAS: Many gasoline nozzles come equipped with a "nozzle talker" that could easily hold a small label; and
WHEREAS: Requiring these labels at the gas pump will provide consumers with information about the impact of fossil fuel consumption directly at the point of purchase, which may encourage them to reduce their consumption and use alternative forms of transportation when appropriate; and
WHEREAS: The fight to reverse climate change requires that everyone take action to change their behavior, and the City must underscore the fact that each individual's behavior can make an impact on the environment and on public health; and
WHEREAS: In City Manager's Agenda #13 of October 17, 2016, the City Solicitor opined that such an ordinance would violate neither the First Amendment nor the Commerce Clause, as long as it contains "purely factual and uncontroversial" information; now therefore be it
ORDERED: That the proposed amendment to article 8.12.010 of the Municipal Code (as attached) be referred to the Ordinance Committee for hearing and report before the end of 2019; and be it further
ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the City Solicitor and the appropriate staff to review the language of this draft amendment and to report back to the City Council in advance of the Ordinance Committee hearing.
Fuel Pump Warning Label Amendment 8.12.010 - Self-service station regulations.
a) The dispensing of motor fuel by means of self-service automated dispensing systems shall be permitted at any authorized gasoline station. All installations shall comply with the regulations promulgated by the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations in the Commonwealth.
b) Each self-service automated dispensing system shall display a clear warning label explaining that burning gasoline, diesel and ethanol has major consequences on human health and on the environment, including contributing to climate change. The text, image, or graphics of this warning label shall be approved by the Department of Public Health.
Ordinance with Proposed Amendments by the Ordinance Committee on December 10, 2019 Fuel Pump Warning Label Amendment
8.12.010 - Self-service station regulations.
a) The dispensing of motor fuel by means of self-service automated dispensing systems shall be permitted at any authorized gasoline station. All installations shall comply with the regulations promulgated by the Board of Fire Prevention Regulations in the Commonwealth.
b) Each self-service automated dispensing system shall display a clear warning label explaining that burning gasoline, diesel and ethanol has major consequences on human health and on the environment, including contributing to climate change. The text, image, or graphics of this warning label shall be approved by the City Manager.