A Proposed Marijuana Ban Tops City Council Agenda

The city council will hold its last meeting of the year on Tuesday, December 15. While the agenda is relatively light, members will discuss several items of interest, including one to ban the dispensing, processing, delivery and cultivation of medical marijuana here.

The city is taking this step because of new legislation that allows the State of California to issue licenses to people to sell or grow pot in communities that do not specifically ban it. A provision in the Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act that Governor Jerry Brown recently signed sets a deadline of March 1, 2016 for cities to amend their zoning laws.

If Coronado doesn’t explicitly make the change, then the State of California will be the sole licensing agency. Potentially someone could open that sort of store on Orange Avenue and there would be little the city could do about it.

A number of California cities have reported problems around dispensaries, including robbery attempts and illegal sales, according to the staff report. The report also noted a number of problems associated with indoor cannabis cultivation such as offensive smells, structural decay and fire risks in buildings where it is grown.

Adoption of the ordinance will not prevent locals with medical conditions alleviated by medical marijuana from obtaining it. There are six dispensaries in San Diego, two just few blocks from the bridge. Many dispensaries even offer delivery. Under the proposed ordinance, companies such as Happy Greens, Fast & Friendly and Left Coast Collective would no longer be able to operate here.

The proposal bucks a national trend to decriminalize the drug for medical and recreational use. Twenty-four states allow sale and possession for medicinal purposes. Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado have all legalized it.

There are ballot initiatives allowing recreational use in several other states, including Nevada, Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona and California, where the initiative is being lead by former Facebook president Sean Parker and Lt. Governor Gavin Newsome.

The Adult Use Marijuana Act would allow adults over 21 to use the drug. The initiative also contains language that safeguards children, discourages teen use and preserves local control over its distribution. In 2010 a similar initiative to decriminalize the drug failed. Possession and sale of cannabis remains a federal crime; however, the Justice Department no longer enforces the law in states that have decriminalized it.

Drugs haven’t been front and center as an issue locally for some time. Traffic is another matter.

The two most hotly debated issues this year – a multi-use path along Ocean Boulevard and traffic lights on Third and Fourth Streets – were attempts to resolve perceived traffic problems. Tuesday the city council will receive a report that gives council members a better idea of the scope of the traffic problem.

Unfortunately the data in the report is over two years old. The city did receive data from 2014, but it arrived too late to be included in the report that will be presented at council on Tuesday. Based on 2013 figures there was a slight uptick in motor vehicles entering and leaving the city, from 93,500 to 94,000 daily.

Despite an increase in traffic, accidents have decreased by one-half percent, down to 259 from 269 in 2012. The highest number was at Second and Orange. None of these resulted in a fatality. A project to improve pedestrian safety and visibility at this intersection is underway, according to city staff.

The council will also vote on whether to spend $15,400 to install two 25-square foot mosaic panels by Kirstin Green above the sinks in the new bathrooms in Spreckels Park. The budget for the entire project, including the panels is $869,416.

The panels will have a floral design motif to celebrate the Coronado Flower Show, held every spring in the park. These will not be the first pieces of public art Green’s has created for the city. Her first was a mural in Spreckels Park saluting “Concerts in the Park.” She has gone onto create works for the clubhouse at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course and two murals at Coronado High School.

Finally the council will discuss the best way to go about procuring a name for the new Senior Activity Center. The idea was proposed at the December 1 council meeting. Finding a name may prove difficult in a city that has traditionally eschewed naming things after people. Vetter Park, named for a former mayor and Spreckels Park, named for man who built the Hotel del, being notable exceptions.

Tuesday’s council meeting begins at 4pm in council chambers at 1825 Strand Way.