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April 25, 2016 ________________________________________________________________ REGULAR MEETING 1. CALL TO ORDER - The meeting of the City Council was called to order by Mayor John Marchand at 7:01 pm, in the City Council Chambers, 3575 Pacific Avenue, Livermore, California. 1.01 ROLL CALL - Present: Mayor John Marchand, Vice Mayor Stewart Gary, and Council Members Steven Spedowfski and Bob Woerner. Council Member Lauren Turner was absent/excused. 1.02 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. PROCLAMATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS 2.01 Commission for the Arts annual update. Commission for the Arts Chairperson Monya Lane presented the annual update. Don Meeker, Livermore, spoke regarding Livermore's previous City Historians. ON THE MOTION OF VM GARY, SECONDED BY CM WOERNER, AND CARRIED ON A 4-0 VOTE, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE CONSENT CALENDAR. 4.01 Approval of Minutes - April 11, 2016 regular City Council meeting. 4.02 Adoption of Ordinance 2036 levying special tax within Community Facilities District No. 2016-1 (Sage Maintenance). 4.03 Resolution 2016-038 authorizing execution of an agreement with C&S Engineers, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $2.5 million, for on-call professional airport engineering design and planning services. 4.04 Resolution 2016-039 authorizing adjustment of airport rates and charges for Fiscal Year 2016-2017 by the regional Consumer Price Index increase of 3.0 percent and approval of new commercial filming fees. 4.05 Resolution 2016-040 authorizing execution of a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Dublin for conducting preliminary engineering for the Dublin Boulevard/North Canyons Parkway Extension Project, Project No. 2002-59. 4.06 Resolution 2016-041 approving Parcel Map 10217 and authorizing execution of Subdivision Improvement Agreement with Primrose School and Daycare Facility; and rejecting the Public Utility Easement, reserving the right to accept the offer at a future date. 5.01 Hearing to receive protests related to the annual fire hazard abatement program. Recommendation: Staff recommended the City Council consider all protests, and if the Council found appropriate, adopt a resolution overruling protests and directing staff to proceed with the necessary abatement on all parcels requiring abatement. Fire Marshal Ryan Rucker presented the staff report. Mayor Marchand opened the public hearing. There were no speakers and the hearing was closed. ON THE MOTION OF VM GARY, SECONDED BY CM SPEDOWFSKI AND CARRIED ON A 4-0 VOTE, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION: Resolution 2016-042 overruling protests and ordering the abatement of a public nuisance. 5.02 Hearing to consider the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Annual Action Plan for the HOME Investment Partnership and Community Development Block Grant Programs. Recommendation: The Human Services Commission and staff recommend the City Council adopt a resolution approving the Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Annual Action Plan for the HOME Investment Partnership and Community Development Block Grant Programs and authorizing its submittal to Alameda County for inclusion with the Alameda County HOME Consortium document and submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Human Services Specialist Ty Robinson presented the staff report. Mayor Marchand opened the public hearing. There were no speakers and the hearing was closed. ON THE MOTION OF CM WOERNER, SECONDED BY VM GARY AND CARRIED ON A 4-0 VOTE, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION: Resolution 2016-043 approving the Fiscal Year 2016-17 Annual Action Plan and its submittal to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 6.01 Update on the Fiscal Year 2015-17 City Council Goals and Priorities. Recommendation: The report was for information only; no action was required. City Manager Marc Roberts presented the staff report. THE CITY COUNCIL ACCEPTED THE REPORT. 6.02 Discussion and direction regarding regulation pertaining to medicinal cannabis. Recommendation: Staff recommended the City Council receive the report and provide direction to staff whether to provide additional information and recommendations to the City Council for regulations to prohibit, allow, or conditionally allow commercial medicinal cannabis activities in Livermore City Attorney Jason Alcala presented the staff report. In response to questions by VM Gary, City Attorney Jason Alcala said there were several initiatives pending qualification for the November ballot. He said the Parker initiative was closest to receiving the required signatures to qualify for the ballot. Mr. Alcala explained the two components of the Parker initiative as one that mirrored the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) closely and the other that authorized recreational use. In response to questions by CM Spedowfski, Mr. Alcala said the federal government regulated marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug in the Controlled Substance Acts and also the banking industry through the FDIC. He said the area of law was evolving, and described the non-profit credit union model currently used in Colorado. He said reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug, which had the ability to be dispensed through pharmacies, was currently under review, although he had not seen any formal filings. In response to questions by Mayor Marchand, Mr. Alcala said there was an opportunity for the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug that could be disbursed by prescription through an actual pharmacy. He said how that opportunity would coordinate with MMRSA remained to be seen. He confirmed that MMRSA did not include a provision to preclude anyone with a criminal history from operating a dispensary. Mayor Marchand said he supported disbursement of medicinal cannabis by prescription through a licensed pharmacy. Mayor Marchand invited public comment. Robert Common, Livermore, spoke regarding the need for a local dispensary in Livermore for safe access to medicinal cannabis. Kim McCoy, Livermore, spoke regarding the benefits of medicinal cannabis and the need for a local dispensary. Anthony Rangel, Livermore, said he did not support recreational use of cannabis. He spoke regarding the benefits of medicinal cannabis. Maria Polson, Livermore, spoke regarding her personal need and use of medicinal cannabis and the need for safe access to her medicine. Amber Smidebush, spoke regarding how medicinal cannabis had saved her life and the need for a local, safe dispensary in Livermore. Josh Governor, spoke regarding his personal health benefits from the use of medicinal cannabis. Mike McCoy, Livermore, spoke regarding his family's need and use of medicinal cannabis and the need for a local dispensary in Livermore. Sandra Common, Livermore, spoke regarding the benefits of medicinal cannabis and the need for a safe, local dispensary. Reanna McCoy, Livermore, spoke regarding how medicinal cannabis had helped her recover from an injury and supported a local dispensary. Sasha, spoke in support of safe access to a healing clinic. Barry Neal, said Livermore should be progressive and described his personal benefits from medicinal cannabis. He said there was a need for local dispensaries in a safe neighborhood. Jon Lustig, Livermore, spoke in support of medicinal cannabis. In response to questions by Mayor Marchand, Police Chief Michael Harris confirmed there were no dispensaries in the Tri-Valley; the closest dispensaries were in Hayward. In response to questions by VM Gary, Mr. Alcala said MMRSA acknowledged and recognized the facilities that were properly operated under the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA) and Compassionate Use Act (CPA) prior to the adoption of MMRSA. They were allowed to be grandfathered in and to continue operating in certain formats. Those agencies and dispensaries would ultimately need to come into compliance with MMRSA once the state licensing was approved. He said until the regulations were adopted, there was no opportunity to allow dispensaries now that didn't presently exist. Mr. Alcala confirmed for Mayor Marchand that there was no prohibition on personal cultivation of medicinal marijuana, only commercial cultivation. In response to questions by CM Spedowfski, Mr. Alcala said the City's ordinance post MMRSA did not expressly regulate a door-to-door delivery from outside the community to inside Livermore. He said staff was currently reviewing the City of Emeryville's ordinance relating to post MMRSA regulations. In response to questions by CM Woerner, Mr. Alcala said that under MMRSA there needed to be both local and state regulations; the state was years away from establishing those regulations. Mr. Alcala confirmed that staff had been directed to evaluate MMRSA, to return to Council where there were opportunities for local regulation, and to explain the current state of the law. CM Woerner suggested that the City could regulate delivery from a valid dispensary. He said there had to be a way for safe delivery and requested more information. He said there was no need to do any more than any other city was doing at this time. He spoke regarding a recent trip to Denver, Colorado and the unintended consequences he observed. He said this should not be revenue generating. CM Spedowfski requested more information on safe delivery service in the City to get residents access to the medicine that they needed. He said he had never disputed the need or the benefits and did not look at this issue as a revenue generator. He requested examples or case studies of any city that had allowed one dispensary to open and any unintended consequences such as crime, traffic, or other potential problems. VM Gary said he was supported medicinal marijuana. He said he would like clarification regarding the ordinance and allowing delivery service, and establishing a safe transfer location in the City; and stated he was not interested in permitting, regulating, or feeing this. He said later this year there should be a land use and zoning discussion by this Council for a small, modest dispensary that would scale to the 85,000 residents of Livermore. Mayor Marchand said a business operating in Livermore needed to be revenue neutral with a permitting or licensing fee for full cost recovery. He expressed concern for unintended consequences such as those experienced by a city north of Livermore with a single dispensary whose clientele was 85% white male between 25-35 years of age. IT WAS MOVED BY CM WOERNER FOR STAFF TO INVESTIGATE PROVIDING A SAFE DELIVERY OPTION FOR THE RESIDENTS OF LIVERMORE, INFORMATION ON WHAT OTHER CITIES WERE DOING, IDENTIFY ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND THE POLICE TO EXPLORE PROVIDING A SAFE DELILVERY SPOT. VM Gary requested the maker of the motion include a timeline. In response to CM Woerner's question, Mr. Alcala said he would need additional time to research other agencies that were delivering from dispensaries and if they were in compliance with the CUA and the MMPA. He anticipated returning to Council by the end of July 2016. VM Gary said he was only interested in eliminating from the Municipal Code the prohibition if people wanted to do business with somebody, that somebody could drive to their home and deliver to them or their caregiver. Mr. Alcala said the City had an ordinance that prohibited dispensaries and mobile dispensaries. He said door-to-door delivery was not addressed in the City's ordinance. City Manager Marc Roberts said there was no current prohibition for door-to-door deliveries; it was not against the law but it was not explicitly regulated either. He said Council would have to direct staff to amend the ordinance to change this. THE MOTION WAS SECONDED BY CM SPEDOWFSKI. In response to questions by Mayor Marchand, Police Chief Harris said the challenge with the delivery services was determining the legitimacy of the delivery services. VM Gary said he could support the motion. THE MOTION OF CM WOERNER, SECONDED BY CM SPEDOWFSKI AND CARRIED ON A 4-0 VOTE, THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECTED STAFF TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND EXAMPLES OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAFE ACCESS FOR LIVERMORE RESIDENTS THROUGH DELIVERY SERVICE OPTIONS. IT WAS MOVED BY VM GARY, SECONDED BY CM SPEDOWFSKI TO DIRECT STAFF TO RESEARCH ZONING OPTIONS FOR A DISPENSARY AND RETURN TO THE CITY COUNCIL, NOT WITH AN ORDINANCE, BUT WITH POLICY CHOICES INCLUDING THE EFFECTS OF LIMITS ON THE NUMBER OF FACILITIES. VM Gary said as the maker of the motion, he was requesting this item return to this seated Council by the end of the year. He said it was appropriate for this Council to complete its discussion on this topic. CM Woerner verified that this item return after the safe access returned to the City Council first. THE MOTION CARRIED ON A 4-0 VOTE. 7.01 Council Committee Reports and Matters Initiated by City Manager, City Attorney, Staff, and Council Members. Tri-Valley Transportation Committee (TVTC) CM Spedowfski said on April 22, 2016, he attended the Finance Committee meeting. There was a review of the draft fiscal year 2016-2017 Operating Budget. Community Service Day CM Spedowfski said April 23, 2016, was Livermore Community Service Day. He described the activities at Hagemann Farm by volunteers from the community. Altamont Landfill Community Monitor Committee CM Woerner said he attended the meeting. He said the City of San Francisco was no longer using the landfill which meant less revenue but also meant the landfill would last longer. Livermore Amador Valley Water Management Agency (LAVWMA) CM Woerner said he attended the meeting. He noted that equipment was aging and would need to be replaced someday. Livermore Downtown Inc. (LDI) VM Gary said he attended the monthly board meeting. He announced that the annual Livermore Wine Country Festival would be held April 30-May 1, 2016. Livermore-Pleasanton City Council Liaison Committee VM Gary said he and the Mayor attended the meeting. He said there was discussion on transportation and a question by Pleasanton staff regarding Livermore's sewer charges to the Ruby Hills development. Carnegie Park Bandstand Mayor Marchand said on April 14, 2016, he attended the dedication ceremony. He thanked the Rotary Clubs and Rotary Foundation for the contribution. Shelby Anderson Mayor Marchand said on April 20, 2016, he attended the retirement ceremony for Shelby Anderson, Water Resources, who had worked for the City for 35 years. Livermore Amador Valley Water Management Agency (LAVWMA) Mayor Marchand said he attended the meeting. There was a budget discussion. Tri-Valley Red, Blue, & Gold Mayor Marchand said on April 22, 2016, he attended the event honoring first responders in the Tri-Valley. Officer Dave Morris, Livermore Police Department, and Fernando Carranza, Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, were recognized. Community Service Day Mayor Marchand said on April 23, 2016, he attended various community service events throughout Livermore. He spoke of the numerous churches and organizations that participated. 8. ADJOURNMENT - at 9:19 pm to a regular City Council meeting on Monday, May 9, 2016, at 7:00 pm, Council Chambers, 3575 Pacific Avenue, Livermore.
APPROVED:
ATTEST:
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