Meet the Signal Hill candidates Page 11
See page 8 “Lagoon with Egrets,” watercolor by Dorte Christjansen
Vol. 36 No. 37
February 13 , 2015
SERVING BIXBY KNOLLS, CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS, LOS CERRITOS, WRIGLEY AND THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
Long Beach City Council to appoint new task force on medical marijuana
CJ Dablo Staff Writer
At a study session on Feb. 10, the Long Beach City Council laid the groundwork to appoint a task force that will offer community input on a new draft of an ordinance that aims to regulate medical marijuana. For years, city leaders have wrestled with numerous complications in their efforts to create regulations that will allow pot dispensaries and corresponding cultivation sites to legally open in Long Beach. One previous ordinance had to be repealed because a state appellate court determined that it is preempted by federal law. According to City Manager Pat West, Long Beach faced an estimated 34 lawsuits, and about half of these cases are still active. Public forums have been punctuated by angry exchanges from individuals both on and off the Council dais. If an ordinance is eventually passed, the City already knows how to tax medical cannabis. Long Beach residents last year voted in favor of a measure that would allow the City to collect taxes from these businesses. Several council members at the Feb. 10 meeting acknowledged the importance of forming a group that represents stakeholders concerned with medical-marijuana issues. They will be asked to review an ordinance that the Planning Commission has already submitted to the Council. Last year, the Council had offered specific directives to the Planning Commission while it crafted a new ordinance. The Council had asked that no more than two businesses operate in each district. Like the previous medical-marijuana ordinance that had been repealed after the City lost its lawsuit, the Planning Commission’s version still prohibits these businesses from operating near parks and schools. However, the new ordinance includes other restrictions. The Commission recommended that dispensaries and cultivation sites could be established in industrial areas, however, only dispensaries– not cultivation sites– would be allowed to operate in specific areas named Community Automobile-Oriented Districts and Regional Highway Districts. During the Feb. 10 meeting, Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal urged the Council to place the Planning Commission’s ordinance on the agenda soon, explaining that the leaders “owe it to the community to take a next see MARIJUANA page 10
Courtesy City of Long Beach
This Long Beach map highlights possible zones for medical-marijuana shops and their corresponding cultivation sites. The Long Beach Planning Commission created a new working draft of an ordinance to regulate the industry in the city– a version that still prohibits these businesses from operating near parks and schools. However, the ordinance includes other restrictions, particularly dealing with location. The commission recommended that dispensaries and cultivation sites could be located in areas marked light blue and dark blue (Industrial). Also, under the proposal, only dispensaries– not cultivation sites– would be allowed to operate in areas marked red (Community Automobile-Oriented Districts and Regional Highway Districts). Long Beach councilmembers studied the ordinance during a study session on Feb. 10.
8th District residents weigh in on design of new LB Civic Center at third outreach meeting Sean Belk Staff Writer
Sean Belk/Signal Tribune
Will Gorham (left), of Plenary Edgemoor Civic Partners, explains a 3D model of the proposed rebuild of the Long Beach Civic Center during a community-outreach meeting at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Also pictured is Bixby Knolls resident David La Charite, right. “A Gourmet Gifting & Baking Company”
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Adding more free parking, addressing homelessness and fetching quality retailers in the downtown area were the main issues brought forward by residents in the 8th Council District this week regarding a massive project to rebuild the Long Beach Civic Center. Representatives with Plenary Edgemoor Civic Partners (PECP), a development team chosen by the City Council last December to take on the project that involves a public-private partnership, stopped by the district this week to ask residents about the endeavor. The community meeting, which drew a crowd of about 25 residents to the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls on Wednesday, Feb. 11, was the third gathering in the city so far to receive input from residents. The Council has agreed to conduct an outreach meeting in all nine Council districts. “This is a major undertaking for the City of Long Beach,” said 8th District Councilmember Al Austin. “The City Council has voted to move forward and has selected a design team we think has come back with the best design and package.” The council member said that, while the development team has already brought forward a design,
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the “vision” for the project won’t be complete without “robust community participation and input.” With construction expected to begin in 2016, the project includes building a new City Hall, a new Port headquarters and a new main library. It also includes completely redeveloping Lincoln Park while adding private development, including a 30-story residential tower that would have 600 permanent residential units, 200 units for hotel use and 40,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. The Council’s decision to move forward with the downtown overhaul was prompted by seismic studies, first conducted in 2005 and 2006 out of federal mandates, that declared that both City Hall, which houses 896 employees, and the main library that were built in the late 1970s are “significantly seismically deficient” and would be public-safety risks in an earthquake. Mike Conway, Long Beach director of economic and property development, said during the meeting this week that the City has been able to take measures, such as removing dirt from the roof of the existing library and installing shelters in the current City Hall building, to reduce the risk of loss of life in a major seismic event.
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