Former Sebastopol council member and mayor Craig Litwin attended Tuesday's Public Safety Subcommittee at City Hall to add his input to the current drafting of a new medical cannabis dispensary ordinance for Martinez.
Litwin said after the meeting he was there as a medical cannabis lobbyist in an effort to gain more public support for the booming, if not controversial, industry.
According to Californians for the Advancement of Medical Cannabis Policy, Litwin was one of the top signature gatherers for 1996's Prop. 215, which legalized the use and cultivation of medical marijuana in California. He was elected to the Sebastopol City Council in 2000 and during his eight-year tenure, co-authored that city's dispensary ordinance.
As Council member Mike Menesini and Lara DeLaney combed through the latest ordinance draft by City Attorney Jeffrey Walker, Litwin repeatedly took to the podium to succinctly summarize the trials and errors Sebastopol experienced, and offer advice upon request, of which the two Council members took advantage.
At the start of the meeting, DeLaney and Menesini discussed whether the Subcommittee would recommend the City would go forward with crafting an entirely new ordinance, or make major revisions to the existing one in the Municipal Code. They agreed to follow Walker's lead by sticking to the new, 28 page ordinance.
"There are at least three downsides for [revising the old ordinance]," said Walker, explaining that he modeled the new version after Santa Rosa's dispensary law, incorporating the nearly "100 comments submitted [by Martinez residents]. "It retains the conditional use permit structure, it clearly triggers Planning Commission review, and [City staff] is reluctant to have another tier of review; and it would take extensive revisions."
"We'll continue to make refinements," said DeLaney.
Preparing for the meeting, City staff hung a giant zoning map of Martinez so attendees could see the 'Light Industrial' sections of town, which the Subcommittee is considering adding to the districts permissible for a dispensary, such as Neighborhood Commercial, Central Commercial, Service Commercial and Thoroughfare Commercial.
City Analyst Michael Chandler told the panel that 'Light Industrial' sections that meet the other location specification for a dispensary would be the North Pacheco section near the Sunrise Business Park, Howe Road near Pacheco Blvd. and around the former Zocchi property, north of the train tracks.
A discussion between City Manager Phil Vince, Chief of Police Tom Simonetti, the Subcommittee and Walker ensued regarding whether dispensaries should be grouped together for easy police patrolling or disbursed around the City in unobtrusive locations. The conversation was predicated on the assumption that the City would issue a license for just one dispensary the first year, and up to three subsequently.
"I'm sure the City Manager and Chief will exercise a great deal of common sense in placing these sites," said Menesini, stating that he didn't see a need for all dispensaries to be in one particular block.
"I'm not in favor of Cannabis Row," said DeLaney, punning on Monterey's famous, former skid row.
The panel agreed the selected location should be tied to traffic impact and there was no clear advantage to clustering the dispensaries.
As to putting a limit on the amount of patient visits, Walker stated, "there has been considerable criticism leveled at the limitations imposed in this ordinance on the number of patients, the number of visits per month, and the size of the facility. All who have made such criticisms have argued that the City should leave such matters to the free market to decide."
"I'm a medical cannabis user and I don't think you should cap the limit [of visits and number of patients]," said audience member Kevin Torres.
A man who stated his name for the record but requested the Gazette not identify him in this article told the Subcommittee that as a Martinez businessman he is in favor of the ordinance.
"I'm a collective patient, I don't want to go Oakland," the man said, adding to the Gazette later that he believed cannabis would be legalized in November. "I tried to grow myself but I got caterpillars on the plants. I want to be able to buy it but [stipulating that the dispensary sell] small amounts limits operators to expand their business."
Mandating a first-come, first-served up to a certain threshold is "an equality issue," said Litwin. "It's a conundrum for a true nonprofit and I encourage you to eliminate an unnecessary burden."
The Public Safety Committee will meet again in the near future to continue its review of the new ordinance.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Martinez News-Gazette
Author: Greta Mart
Copyright: 2010 Gibson Publications
Litwin said after the meeting he was there as a medical cannabis lobbyist in an effort to gain more public support for the booming, if not controversial, industry.
According to Californians for the Advancement of Medical Cannabis Policy, Litwin was one of the top signature gatherers for 1996's Prop. 215, which legalized the use and cultivation of medical marijuana in California. He was elected to the Sebastopol City Council in 2000 and during his eight-year tenure, co-authored that city's dispensary ordinance.
As Council member Mike Menesini and Lara DeLaney combed through the latest ordinance draft by City Attorney Jeffrey Walker, Litwin repeatedly took to the podium to succinctly summarize the trials and errors Sebastopol experienced, and offer advice upon request, of which the two Council members took advantage.
At the start of the meeting, DeLaney and Menesini discussed whether the Subcommittee would recommend the City would go forward with crafting an entirely new ordinance, or make major revisions to the existing one in the Municipal Code. They agreed to follow Walker's lead by sticking to the new, 28 page ordinance.
"There are at least three downsides for [revising the old ordinance]," said Walker, explaining that he modeled the new version after Santa Rosa's dispensary law, incorporating the nearly "100 comments submitted [by Martinez residents]. "It retains the conditional use permit structure, it clearly triggers Planning Commission review, and [City staff] is reluctant to have another tier of review; and it would take extensive revisions."
"We'll continue to make refinements," said DeLaney.
Preparing for the meeting, City staff hung a giant zoning map of Martinez so attendees could see the 'Light Industrial' sections of town, which the Subcommittee is considering adding to the districts permissible for a dispensary, such as Neighborhood Commercial, Central Commercial, Service Commercial and Thoroughfare Commercial.
City Analyst Michael Chandler told the panel that 'Light Industrial' sections that meet the other location specification for a dispensary would be the North Pacheco section near the Sunrise Business Park, Howe Road near Pacheco Blvd. and around the former Zocchi property, north of the train tracks.
A discussion between City Manager Phil Vince, Chief of Police Tom Simonetti, the Subcommittee and Walker ensued regarding whether dispensaries should be grouped together for easy police patrolling or disbursed around the City in unobtrusive locations. The conversation was predicated on the assumption that the City would issue a license for just one dispensary the first year, and up to three subsequently.
"I'm sure the City Manager and Chief will exercise a great deal of common sense in placing these sites," said Menesini, stating that he didn't see a need for all dispensaries to be in one particular block.
"I'm not in favor of Cannabis Row," said DeLaney, punning on Monterey's famous, former skid row.
The panel agreed the selected location should be tied to traffic impact and there was no clear advantage to clustering the dispensaries.
As to putting a limit on the amount of patient visits, Walker stated, "there has been considerable criticism leveled at the limitations imposed in this ordinance on the number of patients, the number of visits per month, and the size of the facility. All who have made such criticisms have argued that the City should leave such matters to the free market to decide."
"I'm a medical cannabis user and I don't think you should cap the limit [of visits and number of patients]," said audience member Kevin Torres.
A man who stated his name for the record but requested the Gazette not identify him in this article told the Subcommittee that as a Martinez businessman he is in favor of the ordinance.
"I'm a collective patient, I don't want to go Oakland," the man said, adding to the Gazette later that he believed cannabis would be legalized in November. "I tried to grow myself but I got caterpillars on the plants. I want to be able to buy it but [stipulating that the dispensary sell] small amounts limits operators to expand their business."
Mandating a first-come, first-served up to a certain threshold is "an equality issue," said Litwin. "It's a conundrum for a true nonprofit and I encourage you to eliminate an unnecessary burden."
The Public Safety Committee will meet again in the near future to continue its review of the new ordinance.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Martinez News-Gazette
Author: Greta Mart
Copyright: 2010 Gibson Publications
