Council Meeting: April 9,
2013 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER ____ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ESTABLISHING SUSTAINABILITY RIGHTS
WHEREAS, as declared in Santa Monica's Sustainable City Plan, a healthy environment is integral to the City's long-term economic and societal interests and, accordingly, the City's decision-making is guided by the mandate to maximize environmental benefits and reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts; and
WHEREAS, as further declared in the Sustainable City Plan, local environmental issues cannot be separated from their broader context; and therefore the City's programs and policies should be developed as models that can be emulated by other communities; and
WHEREAS, in furtherance of these commitments and goals, the City must regularly evaluate whether its plans, laws, and programs are sufficient to meet the growing environmental crisis and must explore all means of addressing the growing environmental crisis; and
WHEREAS, in the last fifty years, national and state governments have attempted to address the crisis by adopting specific environmental protection laws, such
as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act and California Environmental Quality Act, that limit pollution and resource consumption; but those laws
also have proven inadequate to provide long-term protection of our rights to clean air, water, and soil, and sustainable food systems, and the rights of natural ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, the inadequacy of these laws results, in part, from the underlying legal assumption that the natural world is "property", which may be used by its owners -- be they individuals, corporations, or other entities -- for their own, private, short-term economic benefit, generally with minimal regard for the health of the environment; and
WHEREAS, numerous specific examples show that this underlying assumption has proven destructive to the environment upon which all living things ultimately depend; and
WHEREAS, in response to the evils of treating the natural world as mere property, the world-wide, national and local environmental communities are urging governments to adopt a new paradigm based upon recognition that both individual human beings and natural communities or ecosystems have fundamental environmental rights which should be recognized by the law, that the health of the world’s populations and ecosystems depends on the full protection of these rights, and that asserted corporate rights can no longer be allowed to take precedence over these rights to human and environmental health and well-being; and
WHEREAS, there are numerous examples of policy statements and laws based on this new paradigm that recognize the rights of the natural world to exist, thrive and evolve; and
WHEREAS, Ecuador amended its constitution to include the rights of nature in 2008, with the first successful case applying that right concluding in March 2011; and
WHEREAS, in December 2010, the City of Pittsburgh became the first major city in the United States to adopt a Community Bill of Rights that bans corporations from drilling natural gas within its city limits and elevates the rights of people, the community, and nature over corporate rights; and
WHEREAS, other municipalities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, and New York have adopted similar measures recognizing the rights of people and natural communities and including language that would subordinate the rights of corporations to local sustainability efforts; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica's own Task Force on the Environment has studied this growing movement and recommended that the City support it as a means of effectuating the commitments and goals already established by the Sustainable City Plan, and of recognizing the inherent rights of the people and natural communities of the City of Santa Monica; and
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2012 the Santa Monica City Council adopted a resolution declaring the City's Commitment to Sustainable Rights; and
WHEREAS, the City is committed to fully implementing its Sustainable City Plan to further effectuate inherent rights of the people and natural communities of the City of Santa Monica.
NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
Section 1. Chapter
4.75 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby created to read as follows:
Chapter 4.75 GENERAL PROVISIONS
4.75.010 Title
This
chapter shall be known as the City of
4.75.020 Findings
The
City Council finds and declares:
(a) With the exponential
growth in human population and its increasing per capita resource consumption,
the planet cannot sustain our current way of life, which is destructive to the
natural elements upon which all species depend -- the air, water, climate, soil and other fundamental elements of the world;
(b)
Like all other communities, Santa Monica's welfare is inextricably bound to the
welfare of the natural environment; and the City has therefore long been
committed to protecting, preserving and restoring the natural environment and
providing a model of environmental sustainability for other communities to
utilize; and
(c)
The City Council of
(d) These rights are not sufficiently
safeguarded by the existing body of local, national and international
environmental policies and laws, which are grossly inadequate to avert the
mounting environmental crisis; and
(e) The inadequacy of the current framework of state, national and international policies and laws necessitates re-examination of the underlying societal and legal assumptions about our relationships with the environment and a renewed focus on effectuating these rights.
4.75.030 Purpose
This Chapter is created and exists for the purpose of
codifying Santa Monica's commitment to achieving sustainability by among other
things: (1) restoring, protecting and preserving our natural environment and
all of its components and communities including, but not limited to the air,
water, soil, and climate upon which all living things depend; (2) creating and
promoting sustainable systems of food production and distribution, energy
production and distribution, transportation, waste disposal, and water supply;
and (3) to the full extent legally possible, subordinating the short term, private,
financial interests of corporations and others to the common, long-term
interest of achieving environmental and economic sustainability.
4.75.040 Rights of
(a) All residents of Santa Monica possess
fundamental and inalienable rights to: clean water from sustainable sources; marine
waters safe for active and passive recreation; clean indoor and outdoor air; a
sustainable food system that provides healthy, locally grown food; a
sustainable climate that supports thriving human life and a flourishing
biodiverse environment; comprehensive waste disposal systems that do not degrade
the environment; and a sustainable energy future based on renewable energy
sources.
(b) Natural communities and ecosystems
possess fundamental and inalienable rights to exist and flourish in the City Of
(c) All residents of Santa Monica possess
the right to self-governance and to a municipal government which recognizes
that all power is inherent in the people, that all free governments are founded
on the people's authority and consent, and that corporate entities, and their
directors and managers, do not enjoy special privileges or powers under the law
that subordinate the community's rights to their private interests.
4.75.050 Biennial Report
At
least once during every 24 month period, City staff shall prepare a written
report to the community on the state of the local environment, the realization
of the rights recognized in Chapter 4.75, and the City's progress in effectuating
and enforcing the Sustainable City Plan and the policies and provisions of this
Chapter. The report shall include
recommendations for advancing and ensuring compliance with the Sustainable City
Plan.
4.75.060 Biennial Hearing
The
City Council will bi-annually review the report, conduct a public hearing, assess the City's progress in effectuating and
enforcing both the Sustainable City Plan and the policies and provisions of
this Chapter, and provide direction to staff to ensure compliance with the
Plan’s provisions and with the inherent rights of the people and natural
communities of the City of Santa Monica described herein.
4.75.070 Compliance Assurance
The City or any City resident may bring an action to
enforce any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code that advances the
goals identified as enforceable in the Sustainable City Plan.
Section 2. Any
provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent
with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies
and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to
effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 3. If
any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for
any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance.
The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this
Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of
the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section
4. The Mayor shall sign and the City
Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be
published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days
from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE
City Attorney