>Alameda’s cannabis ordinance crisis
ALAMEDA — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: Mar. 5.
-POSSIBLE LITIGATION- Alameda’s Sunshine Ordinance was violated last October, according to the city’s Open Government Committee, after the City Council approved cannabis ordinances that were not properly agendized. In December, the committee declared the council actions null and void. But the city attorney’s office ruled the Open Government Committee does not have the power to make such a determination. The council will meet in closed session before Tuesday night’s meeting to discuss a path forward with possible litigation facing the city. A public discussion is expected to follow. The issue came before the council last month but ended in a 2-2 deadlock after Councilmember Tony Daysog recused himself due to a conflict of interest.
-The council can again decided whether to agree with the committee’s ruling or ignore it. “That could leave the validity of those Ordinances, and any approvals granted under those Ordinances, open to a legal challenge. To address this potential pitfall, the Council could direct staff to schedule a public hearing (in March) for the Council to consider repealing Ordinance Nos. 3227 and 3228 but introducing and adopting two new ordinances…” according to a staff report.
–TAXPAYERS LIABLE FOR POLICE DOG DUMP– Alameda taxpayers paid out $274,629 in claims during the last quarter of 2018 for a variety of issues, mostly from people being injured on sidewalk,s property damage from trees, and vehicle damage. One claim alone, for person who tripped and fell on a sidewalk in 2016, cost taxpayers $210,000. The payout was made last December. In addition, the city paid a resident $320 for carpet cleaning last September after an Alameda Police dog pooped on her rug.
>San Leandro eyes retail cannabis
SAN LEANDRO — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: Mar. 4.
–ADULT USE CANNABIS– Four years later,San Leandro’s once-imitated medical cannabis ordinance is downright archaic, especially after the state voted in 2016 to legalize cannabis. The council will hear a staff presentation for allowing retail adult use cannabis sometime in the near future. San Leandro’s three medical cannabis-only permit holders are now at a potentially decisive disadvantage against retail adult use operators in other cities who are able to sell to anyone, not just those with a note from their doctor. Every city around San Leandro has already shifted to adding retail adult use to their ordinances.
>Fremont sets framework for ‘post-carbon community’
FREMONT — Special work session meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Draft Mobility Action Plan
>>Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: Mar. 5
-CLIMATE GOALS- Fremont’s Environmental Sustainability Commission is recommending a resolution for “community-scale carbon neutrality no later than 2045, set an interim 55% greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by the year 2030 from a 2005 baseline, and establish a “Framework for a Post-Carbon Community” to guide the Climate Action Plan update process,” said a staff report. “The new targets, which align with goals of the Paris Agreement of 2016 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, would put Fremont on a pathway toward achieving deep and rapid decarbonization.”
OAKLAND — City Council committee meetings, Tuesday, Feb 19, start at 9 a.m.
Next council meeting: Feb. 26.
-COMMITTEE AGENDAS- FINANCE & MANAGEMENT | PUBLIC WORKS | COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | LIFE ENRICHMENT | PUBLIC SAFETY
>Hayward rent stabilization update
HAYWARD — Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: Feb. 26.
-RECYCLING RATE INCREASE- Last May, the council moved to adopt an 18-month moratorium on decontrolled rental units. Rent controlled units in Hayward have dwindled to as low as 1,000. In the meantime, the city hired a consultant to review the city’s vacancy decontrol process, held a focus group with renters, and sought out stakeholders. The city’s believes a growing number of residents are paying an extremely large percentage of their monthly income on rent and the phenomenon is hurting African American and Latinos in Hayward the hardest.
-An update compiled from a focus group with 19 renters found evidence the problem is being exacerbated by landlords. “While there are many landlords that provide quality housing regardless of demand, there are examples indicating that there is a significant amount of housing instability in Hayward and that some landlords may be taking advantage of the housing crisis,” said a staff report.
CHABOT-LAS POSITAS COLLEGE BOARD — Regular board meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 5 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next meeting: Feb. 23 (retreat)
-APPOINTMENT PROCESS- The board will set the process for an appointment to its ranks after long-time boardmember Carlo Vecchiarelli announced his retirement last month. An appointment is preferable and less costly than calling a special election. Vecchiarelli’s Tri-Valley board seat is up for election in 2020.
EDEN HEALTH DISTRICT — Regular board meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m.
ENTIRE AGENDA HERE | Next Mar. 20.
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