Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRELIM - CC - 02/03/06PRELIMINARY MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2006 – 10:00 A.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Ferguson convened the meeting at 10:00 a.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - Councilman Robert A. Spiegel III. INVOCATION - Councilman Robert A. Spiegel IV. ROLL CALL Present: Excused Absence: Councilmember Jean M. Benson Mayor Pro Tem Richard S. Kelly Councilman Buford A. Crites Councilman Robert A. Spiegel Mayor Jim Ferguson Also Present: Sheila R. Gilligan, Acting City Manager David J. Erwin, City Attorney Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk Phil Drell, Director of Community Development Mark D. Greenwood, Director of Public Works David Yrigoyen, Director of Redevelopment & Housing Craig Kilday, Chief of Police, Palm Desert Police Dept./Riverside Co. Sheriff’s Dept. Steve Thetford, Asst. Chief, Palm Desert Police Dept./Riverside Co. Sheriff’s Dept. Grace L. Mendoza, Deputy City Clerk V. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None PRELIMINARY MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 3, 2006 2 VI. PUBLIC HEARING A. CONSIDERATION OF THE EXTENSION OF THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN THE CITY OF PALM DESERT. Mr. Drell related that since the moratorium was established on December 24, City representatives had been meeting with the Sheriff’s Department, advocates for medical marijuana, representatives from both the County of Riverside and the City of Indian Wells. He felt the City was well on its way to an understanding of how the ordinance should be structured, it just wasn’t ready yet; but he anticipated being able to bring it before the City Council sometime before expiration of the proposed extension. He said the City had good models for the change from a prohibited to a regulated use, similar to what it had done previously. He believed the City was now getting good cooperation from the Sheriff’s Department relative to the existing dispensary, and having such an operating use was an advantage to the City in providing information about the issues that need to be addressed. Therefore, he said staff recommended extension of the moratorium for 10 months and 15 days. Mayor Ferguson declared the public hearing open and invited members of the public to come forward and provide their input on this matter. MR. LANNY SWERDLOW, resident of Palm Springs, CA, and Director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, a local medical marijuana patient support group and law reform organization, noted that he was also present at the December 24 Meeting. He still supported the moratorium in its present form, with patients having access to the medicine through one dispensary while the City works with the City of Indian Wells and the County to develop regulations for the siting of future dispensaries. He said they did not want the City of Palm Desert to have any problems, with all the appropriate advisory bodies and staff being able to fully study the matter in order to see that residents and members of the public have access to services they need without causing any difficulties. He went on to say he’d been in touch with Riverside County Planning Commission staff, calling them every other week at their request, which was important for keeping open communication. He pointed out that he was unaware of today’s meeting until stories appeared in the Press- Enterprise and The Desert Sun, and he planned to call Palm Desert City Hall on a more regular basis to inquire about any new developments. He reiterated his support for the moratorium and expressed appreciation to the City Council for considering the matter. He understood that there were still some reservations about the issue, and he planned to contact each member of the City Council to offer to meet one-on-one to discuss the concerns. He PRELIMINARY MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 3, 2006 3 thanked Mayor Ferguson for previously setting up a meeting with the Sheriff’s Department and patients when some problems occurred at the dispensary earlier; it was a frank and open dialog that was long overdue. Presently, he was trying to get a representative from the Sheriff’s Office to come to one of their meetings to discuss the law, but he hadn’t been very successful to date; he asked for any assistance the City Council could provide to this end. He invited City Councilmembers to a public meeting being held at 3:00 p.m. this Sunday at the Cathedral City Public Library, where the topics of discussion would be how the Riverside County Board of Supervisors was handling the matter, the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors, and the lawsuit. Additionally, he said his group has a television show that airs every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday night at 11:00 p.m. on cable channel 18 for those desiring more information. Responding to Councilman Spiegel’s question, Mr. Swerdlow said his organization would love to work with the Federal Government; however, it doesn’t want to work with them. Councilman Spiegel went on to offer that letters could be written to suggest Congressional representatives look into the issue of medical marijuana, adding that he felt it should be dispensed from pharmacies. MR. SWERDLOW agreed and added that he would love nothing more than to sit down with the Drug Enforcement Administration or Food & Drug Administration, etc., and would welcome any assistance he could get in conveying that message. MR. STACY HOCHANADEL, resident of Palm Springs, CA, and operator of the dispensary in Palm Desert, thanked the City Council for what it had done for him. Further, he appreciated Mayor Ferguson’s, Lt. Thetford’s, and Capt. Kilday’s visits to his establishment, which he noted had since been painted, re-carpeted, and decorated with patients’ artwork. He extended an invitation to the City Council to visit his business or call him any time and commended them for leading the way on this issue. In response to question, Mr. Hochanadel affirmed there was a dispensary in Palm Springs. Lt. Thetford said he disagreed with the staff report’s item number 3 - Licensing, which correlates the City’s massage permitting procedure to marijuana dispensary regulation. He explained that in a massage permit, prostitution was a residual negative effect, and prostitution was clearly a violation of the law; they were not similar issues. He said the Police Department’s problem wasn’t with the medical use of marijuana, it was with PRELIMINARY MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 3, 2006 4 the residual effect and the conflict with persons with whom they come into contact, as possession of marijuana is still a violation of the law. Some have obtained marijuana without medical marijuana cards, they were using it for illicit purposes, and the Police Department found it difficult to determine which category those persons should be in. He said there have been two different cases where the marijuana had been purchased legitimately by California law, and then it’s been handed off to either: 1) juveniles in an attempted sale; 2) a friend within close proximity to the business. He pointed out that both the permitting process and the law were unclear in order for law enforcement to deal with this issue in the field. He was disappointed that he hadn’t been approached about the staff report before it was distributed. In answer to Mayor Ferguson’s inquiry about his distinction between massage establishments and marijuana dispensaries, Lt. Thetford replied that even if somebody presented the officers with a letter, it was hard to verify. Secondly, he said there was the County Medical Card process in place; even Mr. Swerdlow is an advocate of that method of verification and recommended that all of his people obtain it, which was commendable. However, the Medical Card is a voluntary program; and as was stated at the earlier meeting between patients and police, some people would not get the card. Therefore, the Police Department was in a position–officers had not yet come into contact with anyone who possessed a County Medical Marijuana Card, but they had come across people with very vague form letters, after hours, which were impossible to verify. He said Mr. Hochanadel had been very cooperative; he and Capt. Kilday visited the establishment and reviewed the verification procedure, which was very acceptable. But he reiterated that law enforcement in the field had no clear and distinct way to verify legitimate medical marijuana patients short of that voluntary program, which, for him, represented the distinction between massage and medical marijuana. Mayor Ferguson responded that he thought Lt. Thetford and Capt. Kilday made it unambiguously clear that if people didn’t avail themselves of the safe harbor with the County Card, they would be taking the chance of losing their marijuana, having to use the Medical Marijuana Initiative as an affirmative defense in front of a judge, and they may not get their marijuana back because evidence could not be released, etc. Further, he thought Mr. Swerdlow was also very clear about advising people to get their cards. Lt. Thetford added that there was still also an outstanding issue in that the courts aren’t sure what they’re going to be doing with these cases; they hadn’t even been given a response to any of their current cases because no one wants to take them up. He applauded San Bernardino and San Diego PRELIMINARY MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 3, 2006 5 Counties for at least taking the case to court; maybe a clear resolution would be forthcoming. Councilman Crites observed that the aforementioned comments demonstrated exactly why there was a moratorium currently. He believed it all needed to be put together, including specific regulations for the City’s local ordinance to clarify that appropriate identification was mandatory. He didn’t think anyone wanted vagueness, and whatever comes forward should be as diligent about identification as law enforcement wishes it to be and as he thought the proprietor would too. Additionally, he was certain Lt. Thetford’s previous comments did not imply that there was a residual effect of prostitution resulting from massage, as he thought all of the City’s reputable massage establishments and the industry as a whole would strongly disagree with that tainted association. Lt. Thetford agreed. Mayor Ferguson commented that this issue initially came to the City’s Public Safety Commission as a law enforcement concern, in an effort to help discern who was/wasn’t a legitimate possessor of marijuana, recognizing that legitimacy was part of the issue for the Police Department given the conflict between Federal and State Laws. Although, he said the City had received a legal opinion that pretty clearly stated that State Law preempted Federal until it was ruled otherwise; therefore, the City should follow State Law. However, he was struggling with the need for a dispensary moratorium that looks at how marijuana is distributed versus the law enforcement field problem of determining who is a legitimate marijuana holder. He pointed out that existing law provided for distribution through collectives or cooperatives, or through dispensaries, which aren’t clearly allowed or prohibited at this time; therefore, the point of origin should not be a law enforcement concern. He asked how a dispensary moratorium met law enforcement’s objective of legitimate possession. Lt. Thetford responded that the very issue of a dispensary is the “cart before the horse.” He said having a clear, defined, regulatory system for confirmation through either a pharmaceutical registration or mandatory use of the I.D. card would be of great help. He went on to say they were not trying to decide what the law is but uphold it; they will abide by California Law. He acknowledged Mayor Ferguson’s point that their problem was not the dispensary but the people they’re contacting in the field. Councilman Crites suggested that the City Attorney explore the issue of whether or not the City has the ability to mandate use of the I.D. card, which he acknowledged may also result in gray area but may provide a level of comfort for both law enforcement and the business proprietor. It may also have to be sorted out by the courts. PRELIMINARY MINUTES ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 3, 2006 6 Lt. Thetford affirmed such a regulation would be better than what they have at present. Although, he personally wanted to see the Federal-State Law conflict resolved as well. Mayor Ferguson implored City staff to include the Police Department in all future discussion about this matter. Capt. Kilday advised that with regard to Mr. Swerdlow expressing frustration over trying to contact the Police Department, he had provided one of his business cards and specifically asked to be contacted. However, to date, he had not received such a call; although, he’d received a package that contained some films. With no further testimony offered, Mayor Ferguson declared the public hearing to be closed. Councilman Spiegel moved to waive further reading and adopt Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 1109, extending for 10 months and 15 days Ordinance No. 1106 relating to the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Motion was seconded by Benson and carried by 4-0 vote, with Kelly ABSENT. VII. ADJOURNMENT With City Council concurrence, Mayor Ferguson adjourned the meeting at 10:25 a.m. JIM FERGUSON, MAYOR ATTEST: RACHELLE D. KLASSEN, CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA