O2421Council Meeting: April 9, 2013 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER2y2-1 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
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
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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
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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
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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 SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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 Santa Monica Sustainability Rights
Ordinance.
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
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(c) The City Council of Santa Monica has expressed this commitment through a
multitude of enactments and actions, including recognizing both the rights of natural
communities and ecosystems within Santa Monica to exist, thrive and evolve and the
rights of the individual human beings that make up the City of Santa Monica to a clean,
healthy and sustainable environment. The peoples' rights include, but are not limited to:
the right to affordable and accessible water from sustainable water sources for human
consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes, as referenced in Calif. AB 685 (2012);
the right to a sustainable energy future based on sustainable renewable energy
sources; the right to a sustainable natural climate unaltered by fossil fuel emissions; the
right to sustainable, comprehensive waste disposal systems that do not degrade the
environment; the right to clean indoor and outdoor air, clean water and clean soil that
pose a negligible health risk to the public; and the right to a sustainable food system
that provides healthy, locally grown food to the community; and
(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.
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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 Santa Monica Residents and The Natural Environment
(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 Santa Monica. To effectuate those
rights on behalf of the environment, residents of the City may bring actions to protect
these natural communities and ecosystems, defined as: groundwater aquifers,
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atmospheric systems, marine waters, and native species within the boundaries of the
C ity.
(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 and adopted this 9th day of April, 2013.
Pam onnor, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2421 (CCS) had its introduction on March 12, 2013,
and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on April 9, 2013,
by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Davis, Holbrook, McKeown, Vazquez, Winterer
Mayor Pro Tern O'Day, Mayor O'Connor
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2421 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk