LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council approved a new marijuana cultivation ordinance and the city's 2013-14 fiscal year budget after brief discussions at Tuesday night's regular meeting.
Both items had been before the council previously in recent weeks, with the council approving the marijuana cultivation ordinance's first reading May 21 and conducting a workshop on the budget two weeks ago.
The ordinance requires that marijuana grows be conducted in accessory outdoor structures, prohibiting outside grows and, according to city officials, placing emphasis on a complaint-driven process in which acts of noncompliance are infractions that garner citations and are handled through the city's administrative citation process.
At the May 21 meeting, city officials also indicated that a public education process about the ordinance's rules will be undertaken before any serious enforcement goes forward.
In February a different proposed ordinance went to the council, which decided to create a committee of city staff and community members to bring something back that would seek to more broadly address community needs and concerns, as Lake County News has reported.
The document the committee created went to the Lakeport Planning Commission and received its recommendation that the council approve it before the first reading was held late last month.
On Tuesday night, there was only public comment from city resident Bob Bridges.
“I support what you're doing and I support staff's draft,” Bridges said.
He said he was there to respond to “erroneous” comments by a local attorney about what the city could and couldn't do.
Bridges was alluding to Lower Lake attorney Ron Green, who had participated in the city's marijuana committee meetings but then appeared at the May 21 council meeting on behalf of the Emerald Unity Coalition, criticizing the document and warning the council that it could be sued over the ordinance. Green was not present for Tuesday night's meeting.
Bridges, who is a senior deputy county counsel for Lake County, said he's spent a lot of time studying marijuana law.
“I just want to make sure the city council knows that the California Supreme Court has told you that you have complete discretion on land use matters on this,” he said, referring to a recent court decision that upheld local governments' ability to regulate medical marijuana through zoning laws.
As such, Bridges maintained that the city's proposed ordinance is “totally legal and viable.”
Bridges said the city needs an effective law that is enforced. He added that if anyone thinks more marijuana growing is needed locally, they should consider the estimated 10,000 sites where grows legally can take place in the county jurisdiction. Growing in an urban environment like Lakeport isn't appropriate, he added.
Councilman Kenny Parlet moved to approve the ordinance, with Councilman Martin Scheel seconding. The council's vote was 5-0.
Mayor Tom Engstrom thanked everyone who had worked on creating the document, including the committee. “We appreciate all the hard work you put in.”
The meeting's other main item, the 2013-14 budget, also was approved unanimously.
The new budget has $14.42 million in revenue, $16.72 million in total expenditures and a $3.4 million appropriations, or Gann, limit, according to city documents.
In other business, the council held a public hearing and approved City Manager Margaret Silveira's report to close out a Community Development Block Grant which the city had applied for in order to grant small business loans.
While many businesses were interested, the rules were so restrictive that the city was not able to make any loans, and so $270,000 in unused funds is returning to the state, Silveira said.
“This is happening to many, many cities,” said Silveira.
She reported that a roundtable on CDBG funds is scheduled on Wednesday for representatives from cities from around the state who are expected to weigh in on how the program should be changed.
The city council also approved a first reading of a draft ordinance to establish new mobile catering rules in the city.
Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton said the council in February directed staff to draft an ordinance after considering a report from an ad hoc committee on handling commercial catering businesses.
The document suggested allowing such businesses to stay at a single location for two hours at a time rather than one hour, with a permitting process with $206 in fees for those businesses seeking to stay in a spot longer than two hours at a time, Britton said.
He explained that, among other things, the document is meant to create rules to allow such businesses to operate while protecting permanent restaurants that have invested heavily in their locations, and to reduce the potential for unfair business advantage.
The rules include requiring that equipment be in good condition and the associated vehicles licensed with the California Department of Motor Vehicles; prohibiting portable and freestanding signs; and a requirement that no furniture associated with such businesses be located within the public right of way.
Parlet said he was totally in support of street vendors, but said that vendors whose equipment and vehicles are haphazard can detract from the look of the city.
The council also unanimously approved a $5,412 proposed contract between the city and the county of Lake for a server upgrade for the Lakeport Police Department.
Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the server would be managed by the Lake County Information Technology Department, with the upgrade paid for through Proposition 172 public safety funds.
The council also approved Utilities Director Mark Brannigan's proposal to raise the commercial sewer consumption allotment from eight to 10 units as part of an effort to encourage businesses to invest in irrigation meters.
Mayor Pro Team Stacey Mattina recused herself from the discussion because she has a commercial account that would be affected by the change.
A scheduled discussion on whether to allow Zumba instructor Melissa Maberry to conduct classes at the gazebo in Library Park four nights a week was held over to a future meeting as Maberry was unavailable and could not be present Tuesday night.
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