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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2009-12-09v~H SANF '~ -~- f-. ~ o _ ,~ ,, ~. -.~,- C917FORt"~P MINUTES CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO REGULAR MEETING MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COMMUNITY ROOM 33 ARROYO DRIVE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009 CALL TO ORDI?R: 7:02 P.M. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmen Garbarino and Gonzalez and Councilwoman Matsumoto, Vice Mayor Mullin, and Mayor Addiego. Absent: None. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by El Camino High School Teacher, Sevana Panosian. AGENDA REVIEW City Manager Nagel recommended that Council hear Administrative Business Item No. $ directly after Public Hearing Item No.6 and before Public Hearing Item No. 7. Council agreed. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chief Steward of the South San Francisco Chapter of AFSCME, Frank Pacelli, addressed Council regarding AFSCME's negotiations with the City. He commented on what had transpired at a December 3, 2009 meeting between the Union and the City at which AFSCME believed it was provided with a summary of a past proposal with new additions. AFSCME discussed and reviewed the proposal and came up with questions as well as its own proposal to present to the City. Upon presentation of its proposal, AFSCME was surprised to be advised that negotiations were at an impasse. Chief Steward Pacelli advised AFSCME respectfully disagreed with the City's assessment and hoped the City would return to the bargaining table to negotiate a contract that would be satisfactory to all parties concerned. AFSCME Negotiator Matt Powleson stated he had been employed by the City of South San Francisco for over 24 years and had grown up in the City. He was proud to be a South San Francisco employee and had served as an AFSCME contract negotiator for four (4) contracts. The contract presently under negotiation was one of the most difficult he had experienced. He requested that Council direct the City's negotiating team to return to the table and continue its discussions with AFSCME. He suggested that if and when and impasse came to be, Council might join negotiations to mediate a settlement. He opined that it was not presently time to break off meetings and unilaterally adopt a contract. He advised the present proposal would change everything about present labor negotiations with respect AFSCME and would affect how AFSCME employees feel about their jobs. The contract would affect their families. He noted that AFSCME employees take their jobs seriously and go over and above just showing up for work. Arthur Mosqueda and Rick Root addressed Council representing the Firefighters in South San Francisco. They commented on notice they received on December 7th 2049, pursuant to which they were advised the City no longer saw a need to meet and negotiate. Firefighters were further advised that if the contract proposal was not accepted it would be imposed on membership. The gentleman advised that at all times during meetings with the City they felt as though negotiations were moving forward and at no time did the City's team express concerns or frustrations suggesting an impasse. They requested that Council direct the City's negotiating team to return to the table. ITEMS FROM COUNCIL • Announcements. • Committee Reports. As a point of order, Mayor Addiego requested that Announcements and Committee Reports and Council of Cities Selections be reserved until the end of the meeting. The Items were heard later in the evening. Resolution No. 99-2009 renaming "Executive Drive" to "Poletti Way" upon the City's acceptance of dedication of the street. Director of Public Works White presented the staff report recommending the currently private street, Executive Drive, be renamed Poletti Way upon the City's acquisition of the street. Councilwoman Matsumoto advised that Council gave Lou Poletti a symbolic street sign at a party in his honor last year. Subsequent to the party, Council received a letter from several of Mr. Poletti's friends suggesting that the City might name a City street in his honor. The naming Committee considered the request and felt it was an appropriate honor to bestow upon Mr. Poletti. Motion- Councilwoman Matsumoto/Second- Councilman Garbarino: to approve Resolution No. 99-2009. Unanimously approved by voice vote. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 2 - • Certificate of Recognition presented to El Camino High School Teacher Ms. Sevana Panosian for receipt of the California League of High Schools' Outstanding Educator Honor. Councilwoman Matsumoto advised that Ms. Pnaosian's accomplishment was brought to her attention by School Board President Normandy and Council felt it appropriate to recognize her accomplishment with a Certificate of Recognition. Council presented the Certificate of Recognition to Ms. Panosian. Ms. Panosian thanked Council for the honor and noted she was just doing her job. She felt privileged to be an educator and enjoyed teaching the over ~ 80 students in her classes. • Introduction of the South San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Howard S. Cohen. Ed.D. School Board President Normandy introduced the new South San Francisco Unified School District President Dr. Howard S. Cohn. Doctor Cohen stated he was very impressed with Council and its commitment to community and schools. He further appreciated Council's partnership with the school district. He noted South San Francisco's commitment to community and predicted great things for the City's future. Councilwoman Matsumoto invited Dr. Cohen to come back to Council quarterly to provide a school district update. Dr. Cohen agreed with pleasure. • Hillside Blvd speed limit change information. City Engineer Razavi presented the staff report. He advised that Hillside Blvd. from Evergreen Drive to Chestnut Avenue was under County jurisdiction. The County portion was designed to support speeds of close to 50 mph. In recent years there had been complaints from residents regarding the speed in this area. To combat speeding, the County determined to conduct speed enforcement with radar. To do so, however, it had to conduct a speed survey and set the speed limit to the nearest 5 mph. to the 85% speed. In this case, that worked out to 45 mph- an increase of 10 mph over the current speed limit. At the City's request, the County agreed to redo the speed survey. Councilman Garbarino requested that City Engineer Razavi clarify the radar enforcement situation. City Engineer Razavi advised that without a speed survey a judge could not enforce a ticket. Vice Mayor Mullin questioned whether the area could be classified as residential. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MF,ETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 3 - City Engineer Razavi responded it did not qualify for this classification. Councilwoman Matsumoto asked whether it would be beneficial to meet with the Board of Supervisors on the issue. City Engineer Razavi explained that the Board of Supervisors would not be able to override State Law on the issue. Councilman Gonzalez expressed interest in having more police cars patrolling the area. Resident Claire Latham appeared and expressed opposition to the potential speed limit increase. She stated she lived in the area and noted that it was not frequently patrolled and tickets were rarely given out. She stated that speeders in the area should not be rewarded with a speed iimit increase. She spoke in favor of pursuing traffic calming measures and requested that Council stay on top of this extremely dangerous situation. Resident Stephanie Barry lived on Hillside Blvd and had been a resident of the County fo_r 30 years. She advised of the terrible problems with traffic and speeding in the area and noted roughly 257 accidents had occurred there. She requested that Council stay on top of the issue and include affected residents in their discussions. She was circulating a petition regarding the issue and had contacted other local elected representatives regarding her concerns. Vice Ma;~or Mullin suggested that Ms. Barry also contact Super~~isor Tissier's Office. Council of Cities Selections. This item was heard at the end of the meeting. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Motion to approve the minutes of August 26, 2009, October 28, 2009, November 18, 2009 and December 1, 2009. 2. Motion to confirm the expense claims of December 9, 2009. 3. Motion to cancel the Regular City Council Meeting of December 23, 2009 and schedule a Special City Council Meeting for December 16, 2009. 4. Resolution No. 100-2009 Supporting the Passage of the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act of 2010. 5. Resolution No. 101-2009 authorizing the expenditure of Tax Increment Funds for the acquisition of land located at 296 South Airport Blvd. required in connection with the Caltrain Station Improvement Project and adopting findings required by Health and Safety Code section 33445. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 4 - Motion -Councilwoman Matsumoto/Second- Vice Mayor Mullin: to approve Consent Calendar items nos. 1-3 and 5. Unanimously approved by voice vote. Item No. 4: Councilman Gonzalez asked staff to briefly explain the Resolution for the public's benefit. City Attorney Mattas advised the Resolution would support passage of the Local Taxpayer, Transportation and Public Safety Protection Act, which was intended to prohibit the state government from takeaways or borrowing of local funds in these domains. Motion- Councilman Gonzalez/Councilman Garbarino: to approve Resolution 100-2009. Unanimously approved by voice vote. PUBLIC HEARING 6. An urgency Ordinance of the City of South San Francisco making findings and extending acity-wide moratorium on the issuance of use permits and building permits for medical marijuana dispensaries pending adoption of the Zoning Ordinance update. Public Hearing Opened: 7:58 p.m. Chief Planner Kalkin presented the staff report advising that Council adopted a 45 day Moratorium on permits for medical marijuana dispensaries at its October 28th meeting. The Moratorium was set to expire on Decenibe_r 12th. Staff was evaluating recent case law and directives from the Attorney General regarding medical marijuana and zoning. She noted the Moratorium would only affect dispensaries and not possession or individual cultivation in accordance with state law. She recommended adoption of the subject ordinance for an additional 10 months and 15 days. She opined this was adequate time to finalize a comprehensive ongoing zoning ordinance update and/or changes to the City's current medical marijuana law. Attorney Tom Roth who represented a number of individuals interested in the appeal of the Planning Commission Application at issue in Item No. 7, including the non profit Center for Balanced Land Use, Tom Murphy and Alyco Company, supported staff s recommendation to extend the Moratorium for an additional 10 months to give staff time to work through zoning and medical marijuana ordinance issues. He opined the Moratorium would not prejudice current applications. Attorney Scot Candell requested to make one cohesive presentation on all three agenda items addressing medical marijuana. Council agreed. Mr. Candell advised he represented the Appellee on Agenda Item No. 7. He noted findings that crime is not a problem around properly regulated medical marijuana facilities. He opined that in light of South San Francisco's medical marijuana ordinance the Moratorium was not necessary. If Council desired the Moratorium he suggested the option of carving out an exception relating to pending applications. Alex Dorman, a member of the collective approved by the Planning Commission, appeared before Council and explained his experience with the use of marijuana for medical purposes. He described becoming pain free and being able to work again as a result of REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 5 - medical marijuana use. He advised Council that the collective had organized as a proper nonprofit under California law and had followed all of the laws pertaining to collectives. Everything was done legally and the collective had invested over $50,000 in the process not including attorney's fees. Leonid Malmud, President of the Collective approved by the Planning Commission advised Council of the extremely rigorous application process the Collective had followed. He opined that crime would not increase as a result of the Collective and requested that pending applications be carved out of the Moratorium if adopted. He encouraged Council to follow the spirit of Proposition 215 and provided examples of individuals whose lives had been improved through use of medical marijuana. Danny, a member of the Collective, approved by the Planning Commission advised of his mother's experience with medical marijuana. Iie noted the Collective would help many patients live more comfortable lives. Public Hearing Closed: 8:22 p.m. Councilman Mullin questioned the reasoning for hearing Item No. 8 before the appeal set forth in Item No. 7. City Attorney Mattas advised that if the Moratorium was extended as currently written with no carve out for current applications, Council could continue the appeal set forth. in item No. 7 until such time as ne :~~ regulations were approved. Councilman Gonzales questioned the difference between the three (3) agenda items dealing with medical marijuana. He noted that he was in favor of the Moratorium and suggested Council needed more time to evaluate the issues. Councilman Garbarino sta±ed that he was in favor of the Moratorium to allow staff more time to evaluate the issues. He also questioned why a Collective was necessary if patients could cultivate their own plants for medical use under California law and despite the Moratorium. Mr. Candell responded that many patients were too sick to cultivate their own plants. In response to further questioning from Councilman Garbarino he advised a caretaker could cultivate the plants for such patients. Councilwoman Matsumoto disclosed she had met with Mr. Candell, his clients and City Attorney Mattas. She further advised she felt she needed to hear more on some of the related agenda items before making a determination on the issue. City Attorney Mattas advised that Council could take public testimony for Item No. 6, then hear Item No. $ separately and have deliberations. The result of deliberations would impact whether Item No. 7 could be heard. He further advised Council to avoid discussion of the substantive merits of Item No. 7 until if and when the appeal was formally before Council. He noted the Applicant under Item No. 7 had asked Council that if it went forward with the Moratorium to consider not applying it them. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 6 - After polling Council, Mayor Addiego determined to continue discussions on Item No. 6 until after Council heard Item No. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS 8. Review of options for revisions to Medical Marijuana Ordinance. Chief Planner Kalkin presented the staff report suggesting potential revisions to the existing medical marijuana ordinance. She presented two alternatives including prohibiting medical marijuana facilities throughout the City or allowing such facilities with more stringent requirements. Such requirements might include increasing the limits on concentration and locations. Council could also consider more stringent locational distance requirements throughout the town. She further described regulations requiring certain permits and regulating employees. Mayor Addiego questioned how Council felt about alternative one which would ban medical marijuana facilities in the City. Councilwoman Matsumoto requested clarification of the difference between collectives and dispensaries. City Attorney Mattas advised the City's present Ordinance did not allow dispensaries, which were facilities wriere any patient could go in and purchase medical marijuana. However, collectives, which were for the purpose of cultivating for specified patients and were nat for profit were permitted. He clarified that alternative 1 would prohibit both types of facilities. Mr. Dorman expressed opposition to alternative 1 and noted the difficulty of growing your own plants. Mr. Roth encouraged Council to consider alternative 1, which he opined woulu prevent certain criminal activity in the area near the Collective. Mr. Malmud suggested the proposed Collective would not increase crime in the City due to its locations and other security measures. City Attorney Mattas cautioned Council to avoid hearing public comments that might be related to the appeal set forth in Item No. 7. Mr. Candell stated that the Collective was seeking to make it easy for people to access their medicine in South San Francisco as opposed to driving to San Francisco and dealing with issues such as parking. Mayor Addiego questioned whether the primary caregiver is part of the collective. Mr. Candell responded that the collectives are generally comprised. of patients but patients can have approved primary caregivers who can pick up medicine at the collective. Councilwoman Matsumoto noted a primary caregiver could service up to 10 patients, she questioned whether this would cause traffic issues around collectives opened in the City. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 7 - City Attorney Mattas explained a collectives' membership was limited and each patient could have a primary caregiver. But the primary caregiver was limited to servicing 10 patients. Since 2006 the law had changed and a primary caregiver must fulfill additional care giving rolls in addition to dropping off and picking up medicine. Vice Mayor Mullin questioned whether the City could restrict the scope of patients to South San Francisco residents. City Attorney Mattas advised such a restriction would interfere with an individual's right to travel. Mr. Malamud expressed the difficulties associated with seeking medicine in San Francisco, including parking issues. Pat Murphy questioned why Collectives would expend such large sums of money for no profit. City Attorney Mattas advised collectives can charge for the product at a level that allows them to recover costs. The potential risk is that too much compensation would be paid to employees in the form of salary. George Spietieri expressed concern over the massaging of profits in a non profit collective. Vice Mayor Mullin questioned whether collectives were 501(c)(3)s. Pvir. Car~dell responded that since marijuana was not recognized for medical use under federal law it could not be organized as a 501(c)(3). Councilman Garbarino characterized the issue as one of land use and whether Council wanted to allow this type of use under its zor_ing code. Councilman Gonzalez expressed support for alternative 1. Mayor Addiego sought Council's positions on the alternatives. Vice Mayor Mullin noted support for proposition 215, however he believed Council should consider its options with respect to adding additional regulations and policies that would make sense going forward. Councilwoman Matsumoto concurred with Vice Mayor Mullin and expressed additional concerns regarding traffic and parking. She further suggested limiting the number of collectives in the City to 1 or 2. Councilman Garbarino questioned whether other cities in San Mateo County had collectives. Chief Planner Kalkin responded Redwood City had a Collective. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 8 - Vice Mayor Mullin questioned whether San Mateo had similar regulations. Planner Gross responded that San Mateo had proposed regulations that had not yet been approved. City Attorney Mattas stated it would be helpful for staff if Council could frame direction with respect to options 1 or 2. Councilwoman Matsumoto was inclined towards alternative 2 and having staff look at more stringent location requirements, offsite cultivation and reducing the number to 1 or 2 within the City. Councilman Garbarino agreed with Councilwoman Matsurr~oto. Mayor Addiego noted Council's consensus for alternative 2. Councilman Gonzalez stated he was sticking with support for alternative 1. 6. An urgency Ordinance of the City of South San Francisco making findings and extending acity-wide moratorium on the issuance of use permits and building permits for medical marijuana dispensaries pending adoption of the Zoning Ordinance update. CONTINUED Mayor Addiego questioned whether Council wished to carve out pending applications from the Moratorium. Councilwoman Matsumoto questioned whether staff could. waive application fees for the present applicants if the Moratorium went through without exceptions. Chief Planer Kalkin confirmed fees could 'oe waived if pending applicants reapplied upon expiration of the proposed Moratorium. Mr. Candell advised his clients would be out much more than the City's application fees and were looking at a potential loss of around $50,000.00 Vice Mayor Mullin observed that given the current legal issues surrounding medical marijuana facilities in the state, the pending applicants should have been aware of the potential risk. Motion-Councilman Gonzalez/Second-Councilman Garbarino: to waive reading and adopt Ordinance 1418-2009. Unanimously approved by voice vote. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 9 - 7. Medical Marijuana Collective Munson, Helen B TR/Owner Tom Roth/Appellant 173-175 Utah Ave AP09-0004: P09-0059 & UP09-0016 Appeal of Planning Commission's decision to approve a Use Permit allowing a Medical Marijuana Collective at 173-175 Utah Avenue in the Planned Industrial Zone (P-I) District in accordance with SSFMC Chapters 20.90. Public Hearing Opened: 10:04 p.m. Public Hearing Closed 10:20 p.m. After conferring with their respective clients, the attorneys for the parties to the appeal agreed to continue the hearing off calendar. Council directed that when the item came back before it, there would be new noticing. Additional written submissions by the parties would also be accepted. Mr. Roth noted an error in the name of appellants as reflected on the notice. Motion-Councilman Garbarino/Second- Councilman Gonzalez: to continue the hearing off calendar with direction to staff to renotice the matter upon rehearing. Unanimously approved by voice vote. Recess: 10:25 p.m. Meeting resumed:10:31 p.m. • Annour~c~ments. Committee Reports. Council_members collectively waived announcements and Committee Reports. • Council of Cities Selections. Council provided direction to Mayor Addiego with respect to its selections for various Council of Cities positions. CLOSED SESSION 9. Conference with Labor Negotiators. (Pursuant to Government Code § 54957.6) Agency designated representative: Kathy Mount Employee organizations: AFSCME, Local 1569, AFL-CIO Confidential Unit, Teamsters Local 856 International Association of Firefighters, Local 1507 Mid-management Unit International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39 South San Francisco Police Association Public Safety Managers Executive Management Unit. Closed Session Opened: 10:45 p.m. Open Session resumed: 12:00 a.m. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 10 - Report out of Closed Session by Mayor Addiego: Direction given. COMMUNITY FORUM None. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Addiego adjourned the meeting at 12:00 a.m. on December 10, 2009. Submitted by: Krista Martinelli-Larson, City Clerk City of South San Francisco Approved: M rk N. Addiego, Mayo City of South San Francisco REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MF,ETING DECEMBER 9, 2009 MINUTES - 11 -