Press Room

Moyer's 'Green bill' postponed again

By Nicole Young
The Capital

February 12, 2008

Annapolis' efforts to take the lead on environmental practices were put on hold yet again last night as the City Council postponed action on a bill introduced by Mayor Ellen O. Moyer that would promote the use of reusable and recyclable materials citywide.

The bill, introduced in November by Mrs. Moyer, effectively killed efforts by Alderman Sam Shropshire, D-Ward 7, to ban plastic bags entirely.

Mrs. Moyer's bill was postponed to give the council's committees more time to review amendments.

Mr. Shropshire first introduced his bill last summer. He sought to ban the distribution of plastic bags throughout the city and launched a campaign to promote the bill, and received national media attention for his efforts.

However, Ms. Moyer revised the bill, completely changing it by dropping all references to plastic bags.

Environmentalist Kelly Davis, who helped Mr. Shropshire with his original bag-banning bill, and Green Party member Ted Weber, both urged the council last night to take the bill further. Previously, Ms. Davis had pleaded with the council to put the bag provision back into the bill.

"We'd like to see the city government eventually become carbon-neutral," Mr. Weber said.

Business groups and plastic-bag lobbyists who had previously railed against the bag-banning bill spoke on behalf of the mayor's new bill.

"It's an education of the consumer," said Jeffrie Zellmer, the Maryland Retailer's Association legislative director.

Mr. Shropshire, however, has come back aboard with the revised version of Ms. Moyer's bill, adding his name as a co-sponsor and personally asking that area businesses increase their efforts to 'green the city' by pushing for the use of reusable bags.

He said he would like to see area retail outlets reduce their plastic bag usage by 40 percent in the next year, and encouraged customers to use reusable bags, like those currently being offered for free to Annapolis residents at all city meetings.

Ms. Moyer's revised bill also calls for establishing an environmental committee to encourage the review of residential and business practices and policies.

The environmental review committee will be made up of department heads from the city Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs, Public Works, Central Services and Recreation and Parks.

The bill is up for a vote at the Feb. 25 City Council meeting.

Other business

Ms. Moyer introduced a charter amendment which would get rid of the requirement for the city public works director to have an engineering degree and be a registered engineer in the state of Maryland.

Currently, City Administrator Bob Agee is filling the role of public works director and said the amendment is not directed at him, but simply serves to remove an "antiquated provision" that he said many jurisdictions have already done away with.

Mr. Agee said he supported getting rid of the engineering requirement because it would broaden the talent pool for prospective candidates, and emphasized the Department of Public Works has a staff that includes engineers and consultants.

A public hearing and final vote on the charter amendment is expected in the coming months.

Also, Ms. Moyer's proposed arts and entertainment district plan was introduced to council. A public hearing on the district could be scheduled as soon as the Feb. 25 meeting.

Published Feb. 12, 2008, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2008 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.