Committee on License and Consumer Protection meeting, September 11, 2024
- When: Wed, Sep 11, 2024, 12:00 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: Room 201A, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on License and Consumer Protection
- Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8928556/video/1008152140
- Transcript: full text (5,523 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on License and Consumer Protection met on September 11, 2024, heard four public commenters, and held a moment of silence for victims of terrorism on the anniversary of September 11. The committee approved Rule 45 reports for June through August 2024, reconsidered and accepted an amended substitute ordinance setting lithium-ion battery safety and testing standards for e-bikes and e-scooters, and recommended it for passage after testimony from the firefighters union, an e-bike retailer, and PeopleForBikes. The committee also recommended passage of an expansion of no-peddling zones in the 8th Ward, restricted residential zones for shared housing and vacation rentals and restricted cannabis zones in 23rd Ward precincts, a lift of the liquor moratorium on portions of Clark Street and Lawrence Avenue, and a reinstated liquor moratorium on part of Western Avenue in the 50th Ward.
Topics: lithium-ion battery safety, e-bikes and e-scooters, peddling restrictions, vacation rental restrictions, cannabis zoning, liquor moratoriums, public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 19:27 Public comment: discussed
- 34:01 Approval of Rule 45 reports for June, July and August 2024: passed
- 34:27 Substitute ordinance on lithium-ion battery safety standards for micromobility devices (reconsidered and amended): passed
- 48:02 Ordinance prohibiting peddling in portions of the 8th Ward: passed
- 49:00 Three ordinances designating 23rd Ward precincts as restricted residential zones for shared housing and vacation rentals: passed
- 50:30 Two ordinances designating 23rd Ward precincts as restricted cannabis zones: passed
- 52:45 Lifting the liquor license moratorium on a portion of Clark Street: passed
- 54:20 Lifting the liquor license moratorium on a portion of Lawrence Avenue: passed
- 55:34 Reinstating the liquor license moratorium on a portion of Western Avenue in the 50th Ward: passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Debra L. Silverstein (chair): Noted the 23rd anniversary of September 11 and the killing of hostages in Gaza, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and led a moment of silence for victims of terrorism. (32:24); Said similar battery ordinances were passed in New York and Los Angeles after e-bike battery fires, citing 268 incidents, 18 deaths and 150 injuries in New York City in 2023. (35:53); Explained the ordinance requires accredited lab testing to UL and EN standards, bans reconditioned batteries, and requires fire department reporting, and is not intended to penalize existing owners. (36:59)
- Bennett R. Lawson (alderperson): Said enforcement of battery retail, storage and disposal may involve departments beyond BACP and that more batteries are coming, and gave the ordinance his full support. (47:04); Asked whether the cannabis zone prohibition applies to social equity dispensaries. (51:47)
- Silvana Tabares (alderperson): Said the 23rd Ward is working to ban temporary rentals precinct by precinct and collected signatures from 25% of registered voters in each precinct. (49:53); Said residents want to ban additional cannabis dispensaries along the Archer Avenue corridor and attract family-oriented businesses instead. (50:59); Said she did not have an answer about social equity dispensaries but residents do not want another dispensary on the corridor. (52:01)
- Angela Clay (alderperson): Said lifting the Clark Street moratorium would allow Access Contemporary Music to open a concert venue in a vacant 7-Eleven, selling liquor only during concerts, after community outreach. (53:10)
Exchanges between members
- 47:33 Lawson thanked the chair for taking the time to get the battery ordinance right.
- 51:47 Lawson asked Tabares whether the cannabis zone prohibition applies to social equity dispensaries.
- 52:01 Tabares replied that she did not have a specific answer and they agreed to talk offline.
- 52:42 The chair thanked Tabares after her items passed.
- 53:07 Clay thanked the chair when recognized to present her Clark Street item.