Second phase of plastic bag ban postponed by City Council's vote of 3 to 2

"I call upon you to with every ounce of respect to please take your community's engagement to heart and hear their voices as their elected officials," said resident Jenna Palacio during the South Lake Tahoe City Council's meeting Tuesday. "This is your opportunity for leadership."

Palacio was one of many who spoke in front of the Council and asked them to stay on their original track and keep the single use plastic bag ban in place.

The South Lake Tahoe City Council approved a single use plastic bag ban in the city, first starting with grocery stores on January 15 of this year and then moving to retail stores on October 15, 2014. A majority of three council members voted in June to ask the City Attorney to reword the ordinance and not implement the retail store ban until October of 2015, an additional year. Mayor Hal Cole and Council members JoAnn Conner and Tom Davis have spent the last few meetings stating how they don't want to harm small retail businesses and having them take an extra cost on by not having plastic.

Council members Angela Swanson and Brooke Laine have both long advocated for the ban on plastic bags, both as the right thing to do and as a sign of being a leader in sustainability. Lane has twice tried to suggest compromise in appeasing all sides to the ban but was voted down by Cole, Davis and Conner.

Every speaker in person and via signatures turned in as well as most emails received, including those from small businesses, asked the Council to go ahead with the original ordinance and implement it in October. The lone email against the ban was sent in anonymously.

"We bring issues back over and over and rehash something we've already approved," said Swanson. "Lets implement it or not."

"I'm embarrassed that we're having this conversation again," said Mayor Pro Tem Laine. "I think we need to step up to the plate, provide good stewardship."

"It is up to us as elected officials to represent the community and not just those that come to meetings," said Cole. "We have to to take the temperature of what our community wants," said Cole. "If we represent the majority or not, that is what elections are for. I really feel the sky isn't falling with this issue."

The final vote for the moving of the date for the second stage of the plastic bag ban to October 15, 2015 was 3-2.