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city Council Meeting 10-9-90
OCT 9 1998,
Santa Monica, California"
STAFF REPORT
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
city Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance Adding Chapter SA to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code to Prohibit the City's Purchase
and Use of Any Tropical Rainforest Wood Product
and to Require the Posting of Signs by Businesses
Selling Tropical Rainforest Wood Products
At its meeting on May 8, 1990, the city Council directed
the city Attorney to prepare an ordinance prohibiting the
purchase and use by the city of tropical rainforest wood
products.
In response to this direction, the accompanying
ordinance has been prepared and is presented to the City Council
for its consideration.
The purpose of the accompanying ordinance, as set forth in
Section 2550 of the ordinance, is to prevent the destruction of
tropical rainforests, which is partially responsible for global
warming, by prohibiting the use of products made with tropical
rainforest woods.
In addltion, preventing the destruction of
tropical rainforests will reduce the loss and/or displacement of
indigenous rainforest peoples and their culture, and the loss of
millions of species which reside in the rainforests. While the
City's prohibition against using or purchasing tropical timber
will not alone stop the destruction of rainforests,
it will set
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OCT 9 \990
an example for other communities to follow.
The accompanying ordinance adds Chapter 5A to the Santa
Monica Municipal Code to prohibit the purchase and use by the
City of any tropical rainforest wood product. A list of tropical
hardwoods, the use or purchase of which is prohibited by this
Ordinance, is contained in Section 2551 of the Ordinance.
The Ordinance further provides that all contracts between
the city and any supplier of wood products must provide that the
supplier will supply no tropical wood to the city and that a
violation of such a provision would constitute a material breach
of the contract. Suppliers are also requ1red to state on each
invoice for wood products that the package does not contain
tropical wood.
The Ordinance further provides that the City Manager is
authorized to promulgate regulations and to take any and all
other actions reasonable and necessary to enforce this Ordinance.
In addition to directing the city Attorney to prepare an
ordinance directed at the city's use of these woods, the city
council directed the city Attorney to consider a ban on the use
and purchase of tropical rainforest woods by anyone wi thin the
city. The city Attorney does not recommend that such an
ordinance be adopted. A citywide ban on the use and sale of
tropical rainforest products would be extremely difficult to
enforce. For better or worse, these products are available in a
wide variety of goods from raw construction materials to finished
merchandise, and appear 1n such wide ranging products as
furniture, toys, kitchen 1mplements, art works, and luxury cars.
Consequently, not only would the City have a difficult time
determining compliance with a ban, but so would many retailers.
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Rather than banning the sale, purchase, or use of tropical
wood products, the city Attorney proposes that all businesses
selling goods containing tropical wood products be required to
display a sign that informs the public of the potential danger
faced by the destruction of the rainforests.
Such a sign would
have to be displayed conspicuously both at sale registers and in
all departments of the business where such products can be
purchased. The sign should state:
Some products sold by this business are
made from hard wood harvested in tropical
rainforests.
Rainforests
are
being
destroyed at a rapid rate.
The loss of
the
rainforests
could
cause
harmful
climate changes and could lead to the
extinction of thousands of unique animal
and plant species.
An ordinance of this type would be educational and over
time could change consumer purchasing practices.
RECOMMENDATION
It 1S respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be introduced for flrst reading.
PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney
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CA:RMM:joe461jhpc
city council Meeting 10-9-90
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(city Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 5A TO THE SANTA
MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROHIBIT THE CITY'S PURCHASE
AND USE OF ANY TROPICAL RAINFOREST WOOD PRODUCT
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLmvs :
SECTION 1.
Chapter 5A is added to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code to read as follows:
SECTION
2550.
Findinqs
and
Purpose. The City Council of the City of
Santa Monica finds and declares:
(a) Trop1cal rainforests are being
destroyed at a rate of 50,000 acres per
day across the world, and the use of
imported tropical timber by the united
States leads to a substantial loss of
tropical
rainforests.
Scientific
evidence has shown that destruction of
tropical
rainforests
is
partially
responsible for the Greenhouse Effect, or
global warming.
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(b) The logging of troplcal
rainforests frequently results in the
displacement of indigenous rainforest
peoples and often results in the death of
the people and of their knowledge and
culture.
(c) Tropical rainforests are home
to half of the world's species. The loss
of tropical rainforests results in the
extinction of millions of species.
(d) A public informational
campaign directed at educating the public
about the dangers of rainforest
destruction coupled with a ban on the
purchase use of tropical timber by the
City of Santa Monica can reduce the
demand for tropical timber, thus slowing
the destruction of tropical rainforests,
and protecting the health and welfare of
the citizens of Santa Monica.
SECTION 2551. Definitions. The
following words and phrases shall have
the following meanings when used in this
Chapter:
(a) Tropical Rainforest. Tropical
rainforests are those forested areas
bordering the equatorial region where
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rainfall is not less than 80 inches
yearly.
Included within this designation
are the forested areas found in Central
America, the Amazon River basin, central
and
Africa,
western
Asia,
southeast
Malaysia, Indonesia, and New Guinea.
(b)
Tropical Hardwood.
classified
as
hardwoods
are
woods
Tropical
rainforests.
hardwoods that are grown in tropical
Hardwoods
are
scientifically classified as angiosperme
following:
and include, but are not limited to, the
Scientific Name
Vouacapoua americana
pericopsis elata
Shorea almon
Peltogyne spp.
Guibourtia ehie
Aningeria spp.
Dipterocarpus
grandiflorus
Ochrarna lagopus
Virola spp.
Anisoptera thurifera
Guibourtia arnoldiana
Detarium Senegalese
Guibourtia demeusii
prioria copaifera
Antiaris africana
Dalbergia retusa
Cordia spp.
Diospyros spp.
Aucoumea klaineanal
Chlorophora excelsa
Acacia koa
pterygota macrocarpa
Shorea negrosensis
Pentacme contorta
Shorea polysperma
Terminalia superba
Aniba duckei
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Common Name
Acapu
Afrormosia
Almon
Amaranth
Amazaque
Aningeria
Apitong
Balsa
Banak
Bella Rosa
Benge
Boire
Bubinga
cativo
Chenchen
Concobolo
Cordia
Ebony
Gabon
Iroki
Koa
Koto
Red Lauan
White Lauan
Tanguile
Limba
Louro
Khaya ivorensis
swietenia macrophylla
Tieghemella heckelii
Distemonanthus
benthamianus
Pterocarpus soyauxii
Pterocarpus angolensis
Aspidosperma spp.
Peltogyne spp.
Gonystylus spp.
Dalbergia spp.
Entandrophragma
cylindricum
Shorea philippinensis
Tectona grandis
Lovoa trichilioides
Milletia laurentii
Microberlinia
brazzavillensis
SECTION
2552.
Africa
Mahogany
Amer. Mahogany
Makore
Movingui
African Paduak
Angola Paduak
Peroba
Purpleheart
Ramin
Rosewood
Sapele
Sonora
Teak
Tigerwood
Wenge
Zebrawood
Prohibition
on
Hardwoods.
Purchase or Use of Tropical Rainforest
(a) The city of Santa Monica shall
wood
product,
not purchase or use any tropical hard
shall
any
city-sponsored
event
products.
nor
utilize
such
(b) All contracts between the City
and any supplier of wood products entered
into after the effective date of this
Chapter shall include provisions that the
supplier will supply no tropical wood,
invoice
that the supplier will state on each
for
wood
package is not tropical wood, and that
products
the
that
failure to comply with such a provision
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constitutes a material breach of the
contract.
(c) The City Manager is authorized
to promulgate regulations and to take any
and all other actions reasonable and
necessary to enforce this section.
SECTION
Danqers of
Destruction.
(a) On or after March 1, 1991, any
person who offers for sale any item
containing any tropical hard wood product
shall cause to be continually and
conspicuously displayed on the premises
of his or her business a sign meeting the
requirements of subsections (c) and (d)
of this Section.
(b) Each sign required to be
displayed pursuant to this Section shall
be obtained from the city License
2553. Siqns
Tropical
Warning of
Rainforest
Division.
The License Division shall
charge a fee for each sign equal to the
City's cost of printing the sign. The
signs shall state:
"Some products sold by this business are
made from hard wood harvested in tropical
rainforests. Rainforests are being
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destroyed at a rapid rate. The loss of
the rainforests could cause harmful
climate changes, endanger the health of
humans, and lead to the extinction of
thousands of unique animal and plant
species."
(c) Signs required by this section
shall be placed as follows:
(1) In each department or
section of the business where products
containing tropical rainforest wood are
dlsplayed.
(2) At each register, desk,
or counter where products containing
tropical rainforest wood are purchased.
SECTION 2554. Violations.
Violations of this Chapter shall be
punished as follows:
(a) Any person who violates this
Chapter shall be guilty of an infraction
subject to a fine of not less than Fifty
Dollars ($50.00) and not more than One
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00).
(b) Any person who violates this
Chapter after having received written
notice from the City to comply with this
Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
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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, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to affect 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 any 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
withln 15 days after its adoption.
This Ordinance shall become
effective after 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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