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News (Media Awareness Project) - US CA: Dispensary Team Seeks To Expedite Process
Title:US CA: Dispensary Team Seeks To Expedite Process
Published On:2010-06-15
Source:Martinez News-Gazette (CA)
Fetched On:2010-06-17 15:00:51
DISPENSARY TEAM SEEKS TO EXPEDITE PROCESS

City Council Preview

Medical Cannabis

California's most prominent medical marijuana and legalization
advocate, Ed Rosenthal, has lent his support to a group interested in
establishing a Martinez dispensary; the group plans to attend this
week's Council meeting en masse to encourage the Council to move more
quickly in approving a reworked ordinance.

"Currently, the schedule is such that there is about six weeks
between [Council Public Safety Subcommittee] meetings, and it looks
like the ordinance won't be passed until after the election in
November. For many reasons, this is an unacceptable risk to the
patients of Contra Costa county," Michael James Marshall, executive
director of the Liberty Patient Collective, said Monday.

The next Public Safety Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for July 6
from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at City Hall.

"The goal for this meeting will be to complete the remaining
revisions to the draft ordinance, which will enable the City Attorney
to prepare the updated draft for public review and Council
consideration," said City Manager Phil Vince.

QUIET ZONE

Other agenda items include a presentation on the findings of a Quiet
Zone study completed by consultants over the past year.

At the Oct. 3, 2007 Council meeting, members unanimously approved up
to $60,000 to Wilbur Smith Associates to pay for a "community-based
Transportation Plan for Downtown Martinez."

In order for the Federal Railroad Administration to approve the
establishment of a Railroad Quiet Zone in Martinez, which according
to staff would mean a series of "railroad at-grade crossings enhanced
with additional safety measures ... that negates the need for train
engineers to routinely sound their horns when approaching the
crossings," the City would first need to spend millions to add
features such as grade separation, medians, quad gates and permanent
road closures.

On Wednesday, Council will vote on transferring $7,500 in Gas Tax
funds to pay for an already-completed addition to the original study,
a meeting that occurred on April 12.

"A mandatory meeting between Federal Railroad Administration (FRA),
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Railroad
representative, Caltrans, City and other stakeholder agencies [was
held]," City Engineer Tim Tucker said in a Council memo dated June
8. "According to the FRA, either [installing quad gates at both
[Ferry and Berrellesa Street] crossings aE& or Ferry Street
intersection improvements plus Quad gates on Berrellesa ... are the
only viable options for them to approve a Quiet Zone. The realignment
of the north Ferry Street extension will be done with Phase 3 of the
Intermodal Parking lot project."

The estimated cost on installing new, high-tech gates both the Ferry
and Berrellesa Street crossings is $3 million, while a proposal to
install a median on Ferry Street and close the Ferry Street entrance
to the Amtrak station is expected to cost $1.5 million.

The $7500 Council is anticipated to allocated on Wednesday would
apparently also pay for the development of schematic drawings,
"better position[ing] the City to seek grant and other funding," said
Tucker.

Residents interested in hearing more about the Prop. 84 grant
currently being written by the City for the California Center for
Delta Research and Education will learn more at the meeting as a
presentation about the process is scheduled.
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