Last week in my Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture (HHSHC) committee the 3 Councilmembers in attendance there with me agreed to continue working on one of the 3 options I wrote about two weeks ago to help Nickelsville relocate from their current location. Nickelsville residents have been camping outside on City-owned property on West [...]
Month: June 2013
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Good morning from the Paris Airshow.
Good morning from the Paris Airshow. The Trade Development Alliance/Seattle Chamber delegation spent the day here today checking out the displays and visiting vendors who do or should do business in Washington. Takeaways so far: Washington has a great pavilion, but we’re not alone here. Some 20 states are here looking to land business and […]
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Online Seattle Municipal Code updated
Ordinance # SMC section affected 124142 Added §§ 14.18.10—14.18.40 124143 Amended § 11.23.160.B 124145 Amended § 4.13.010; added §§ 3.14.981—3.14.984 124150 Amended zoning maps 25, 26, 39 and 40
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Legislation approved by the Seattle City Council on May 28, 2013, and filed with the City Clerk
PDF copies of the signed legislation are available in the database records linked below. Ord. 124190 C.B. 117753 AN ORDINANCE relating to historic preservation, imposing controls upon the Fashioncraft Building, a landmark designated by the Landmarks Preservation Board under Chapter 25.12 of the Seattle Municipal Code, and adding it to the Table of Historical Landmarks [...]
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The 2013 Americans for the Arts Convention
Last week, my legislative aide attended the Americans for the Arts convention, held in Pittsburgh, which featured sessions on arts, entertainment and cultural districts.
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Seattle City Hall to host Pike Place Farmers Market Expres
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/17/2013
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Seattle City Hall to host Pike Place Farmers Market Express
Weekly market will run Tuesday June 18 through October 29
Seattle - Grab your reusable shopping bags and spend your lunc...
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Invest Early in Our Children to Build the Strongest Seattle
The following article was sent out in my City View Newsletter, which you can sign up to receive here. What if Seattle became a national leader in providing early learning opportunities for all of our children? To achieve this ideal,...
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Council encourages creation of prescription drug disposal program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/17/2013
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Council encourages creation of prescription drug disposal program
SEATTLE - Seattle City Council today adopted a resolution today encouraging the Seattle/King County Board of Health to establish a secure return program for unwanted and expired medicines from households. The resolution asks that the return program be financed by pharmaceutical manufacturers to cover the cost of collection, transportation and disposal of unwanted medications.
A similar program in British Columbia has been operating for ten years and provides the public locations (often in retail pharmacies or law enforcement offices) to deposit unwanted prescription medication for free secure disposal. In King County, voluntary medicine take-back programs currently exist, but at insufficient levels to protect public safety.
"It's important we establish a convenient, safe, secure, and environmentally sound medicine return program," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, Vice-Chair of the King County Board of Health. "Over half of the 37,000 calls to the Washington Poison Center in 2009 were for young children poisoned by medicines found at home. There's a smarter way."
Improperly disposed prescription medications can have negative environmental consequences when they enter the waste stream or sewer lines because wastewater treatment facilities cannot effectively remove or degrade all pharmaceutical compounds. A range of medications show up in the tissues of fish and other aquatic wildlife, which are part of the larger food chain.
The King County Board of Health is currently deliberating whether to create a disposal program. More information about the King County Board of Health's proposed secure medicine return program is available here.
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City Council Adopts Bold Climate Action Plan Plan provides pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/17/2013
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
City Council Adopts Bold Climate Action Plan
Plan provides pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050
Seattle - Seattle City Council voted unanimously to adopt Seattle's Climate Action Plan (Resolution 31447) today. The Climate Action Plan is composed of recommended actions to be taken to meet Seattle's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
The Seattle Climate Action Plan is the result of a three year collaborative effort between the City and community to produce a blueprint for a prosperous and climate-friendly city. "With this bold plan to reduce our carbon emissions now in place, we must now get to work on implementing the actions called for in the plan," said City Councilmember Mike O'Brien. "In the Energy & Environment Committee, we will begin exploring how to make energy use more visible to consumers and developing the tools we need to improve Seattle's home and building energy performance."
The Climate Action Plan includes specific short- and long-term actions the City needs to meet its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. For example, the transportation sector accounts for 40% of Seattle's greenhouse gas emissions, but the biggest challenge Seattle faces to reducing emissions in this sector is funding. The plan calls for new funding sources like extending the Bridging the Gap levy and securing local authority for a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) to help improve bus service and reliability, invest in improvements that make it easier and safer to walk or bike and take steps to build out the region's light rail system. The plan also calls for supporting the adoption of low carbon vehicles and fuels.
In the building energy section, the Plan calls for accelerating Seattle's already strong conservation work by enhancing the tracking of utility use, providing better energy performance information to building owners and users, and generally help to improve the public's understanding and manage their energy consumption. Additionally, the Plan calls for getting the right mix of policies and incentives to spur retrofitting in Seattle's housing stock and commercial buildings.
"Making Seattle carbon neutral is an audacious goal that takes time, hard work, creativity and the commitment of the City, business community and Seattle residents," said City Councilmember Richard Conlin. "We have laid out the path to meet this preeminent moral challenge of our time and we will lead the way to secure the future for generations to come."
"We must ready the city's infrastructure for climate change meanwhile leading in reducing carbon emissions," said City Councilmember Jean Godden. "Recycling and composting, as well as preparing for more intense rainstorm episodes with green stormwater infrastructure, are the first steps my committee will take."
"This policy document sets very ambitious environmental goals to stride towards, 62% and 91% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 and 2050 in the vehicle and building energy sectors. At each step, our strategies to reach these targets must go through the lens of the Race and Social Justice Initiative. In order to get residents and businesses to support climate action and include it as a part of their lives, we must be inclusive in our education and outreach with all communities," said City Councilmember Bruce Harrell.
"While I'm pleased that Council adopted the Plan today, we know the real work is just beginning," said Jill Simmons, Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment.
The Plan focuses on three sectors where the City of Seattle can have the greatest influence in reducing carbon emissions: transportation and land use, building energy and solid waste. The Plan also includes a section outlining how the City should prepare for the impacts of climate disruption we expect to occur, as well a section on actions individuals can take to reduce emissions through purchasing decisions.
The Climate Action Plan can be viewed online at: http://www.seattle.gov/environment/climate_plan.htm
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Action Summary, Monday 6/17/13
The following is a summation of Council actions at today’s 2 p.m. Full Council meeting. 1. Resolution 31455 (PDF Version) ADOPTED (8 – 0) Supporting creation of a secure, convenient medicine return program in King County to reduce the public safety and environmental impacts of unwanted medicines. 2. Council Bill 117808 (PDF Version) PASS (8 [...]