La Conner leads again

Town Council’s action passing a plastic bag ban ordinance June 12 was forward thinking, leading all Skagit County communities. Representing the citizens of La Conner, council members took the initiative, a small but significant step to reduce plastic waste and lessen harm to marine life.

It was a good night for community involvement. Two town residents spoke vigorously against the ban, concerned about burdens to the owner of Pioneer Market. Eight others, mostly from out of town, supported the ban. Mayor Ramon Hayes and all five members discussed citizen concerns and the specifics of the ordinance. The vote was unanimous. The mayor has neither a vote nor veto power. The ordinance takes effect August 1. Merchants may request a hardship delay; they then have to January 1, 2019 to comply.

The Town Council did what legislative bodies, big and small, are supposed to do. Here, they offered a vision of a more sustainable community, considered and debated specific proposals and listened to citizens’ concerns – especially opposing points of view. Council engaged itself in vigorous discussion and then offered, considered and voted on a specific ordinance, one modified by their process.

That was June 12. At its next bi-weekly meeting, they will probably not pass first-in-the-county ordinances. Those are probably few and far between. And, among environmental problems alone, this was a baby step. Hopefully this whets both citizen and elected official appetites to reach farther and do more.

We need a Council, as we need state and federal legislators, actively and carefully addressing the future and taking measures to make La Conner, Washington state and the country more resilient and sustainable. We need involved citizens: our community pushing decision-makers to realistically face a future of too much stuff: fossil fuel, carbon, pollutants and people – and more possessions then we need – and living on a planet with resources we use in ever increasing amounts even as we measure their diminishment.