9 POT DISPENSARIES COULD CLOSE

The Long Beach City Council will consider tightening its grip on
medical marijuana collectives and loosening its grip on bicycles at
Tuesday's meeting.

After deciding last month to rework Long Beach's new medical
marijuana regulations, the City Council on Tuesday will vote on the
rewritten ordinance.

The updated law would prohibit collectives from operating within
1,000 feet of parks - in addition to already being prohibited in
residential areas, near schools, or within 1,000 feet of other collectives.

Also, the public would have a 45-day period in which to comment about
a proposed collective location, after which the council would have a
hearing to determine whether the collective should be allowed.

Collectives would have to install video surveillance systems that
would allow the police to monitor the outsides of their buildings,
and their hours of operation would be limited to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Each collective also would have to submit an annual audited report on
revenues, expenditures and operational costs.

Changing the law thusly is expected to force the closure of nine of
the 37 marijuana sites that have advanced through the city's
permitting process. No permits have actually been issued yet because
building inspections and other steps are still being completed.

If the council has a change of heart again Tuesday, members could try
to alter the ordinance further before voting on it.

In addition, the council will vote on whether to enact a one-year
moratorium on new medical marijuana collective permits. At the end of
the moratorium, the city would consider how the law has worked and
whether it needs to be changed.

Voluntary bike registration

While the council is making it harder for medical marijuana
collectives to operate, three council members want to make it easier
for cyclists to ride the streets.

Councilman Robert Garcia, supported by council members Suja Lowenthal
and Gary DeLong, is asking the council to have the city manager
report within 30 days on the feasibility, costs and benefits of
eliminating Long Beach's bicycle registration requirement. Garcia
said the registration process is too burdensome and unnecessary, and
that it should be voluntary only.

Currently, the city requires that bicyclists register, giving their
names, addresses, bicycle serial numbers and other information, each
in turn receiving a registration sticker that goes on the bike.

Registering hasn't been easy.

Though it just takes a few minutes and $3, getting a bike license
requires going to a fire station between 9 a.m. and noon Saturday or
Sunday - and hoping that the firefighters there aren't out on a call.
The city also recently began offering bike licenses at some community
centers and at the Bikestation downtown.

Riders can be ticketed by the police for not having their bikes
registered, though police say the main reason for requiring licenses
is so that they can more easily identify stolen bikes.

Garage conversion law

On Dec. 14, 2007, three young Long Beach sisters died in a fire in a
garage that had been illegally converted into a residence. Following
the fire, the city cracked down on illegal garage conversions.

Now, Councilman Dee Andrews is asking the council to name a section
of Long Beach's municipal code that addresses illegal garage
conversions after the sisters, Jasmine, Jocelyn and Stephanie Aviles.

The garage ordinance would become known as "Aviles Law," which
Andrews says will help educate the public and reinforce the dangers
of illegal, unpermitted and dangerous garage conversions.