Expanding cannabis delivery options and a workplan for the Fire Ad Hoc Committee

Recap of March 21 City Council Meeting

Mar 31, 2023

The March 21 Sebastopol City Council meeting included Mayor Neysa Hinton, Vice Mayor Diana Rich, Councilmember Sandra Maurer, and Councilmember Stephen Zollman. Councilmember Jill McLewis was absent, and Councilmember Maurer participated remotely.

Note of Conflict of Interest: In addition to being the co-publisher of the Sebastopol Times, the author of this piece is also a part-time contractor for the city of Sebastopol. The news reported in this article, and any opinions reflected therein, are not dictated by or reflective of the opinions of the city council or staff of the city of Sebastopol.

PROCLAMATION

The council proclaimed March 30 as “International Day of Zero Waste 2023.”

CONSENT CALENDAR

The council voted 4 to 0 to approve the following items on the consent calendar:

A resolution to alter the city’s ethics policy to align with AB 1234, which requires certain city employees and members of city boards and committees to take ethics training within 30 days of appointment and bi-annually thereafter. The goal of AB 1234 training is to alert local officials to the extensive array of laws that apply to public service, as well as the unique ethical obligations public servants have.
Approval of a letter of support from the city council to the Sonoma County Library Commission for advocacy of library positions by use of surplus Measure Y Funds.
Approval of a contract to Much More than Consulting for human resources personnel services.
Approval of a resolution authorizing city staff to submit a grant application to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for a workforce housing overlay and flex zoning project.

PUBLIC HEARING

The council held a public hearing to amend the city’s cannabis ordinance to allow “cannabis retail delivery” as a permitted use within the industrial districts of Sebastopol, where it is currently not allowed.

The council voted 4 to 0 to approve this use, with the proviso that delivery would be allowed between 9 am and 10 pm. There was some discussion of whether to put a cap on the number of cannabis manufacturers allowed in town—there are currently six, according to city planner Kari Svanstrom—but the council declined to impose a cap.

The city’s cannabis regulations put a cap on the number of other cannabis permits the city hands out. The number of cannabis retail permits is limited to two. (Those are currently used by Solful and Sparc.) The number of cannabis retail delivery permits is capped at three. (Solful and Sparc have two of those permits, while the third is still available.) By allowing cannabis manufacturers to get a permit for delivery this could potentially expand the number of businesses in town delivering cannabis.

REGULAR AGENDA

Fire Ad Hoc Workplan

There was just one item on the regular agenda: the Fire Ad Hoc Workplan. Interim Fire Chief Jack Piccinini introduced the workplan, which was divided into mission, tasks and deliverables.

Mission includes the following:

Identify and evaluate optimum fire and emergency service delivery options for the City of Sebastopol.
Provide potential strategies to address the short- and long-term fire station remodel to accommodate 24-hour staffing (Amended by the council to read “to accommodate all options, including 24-hour staffing.”)
Develop strategies to address the needed fire engine replacement.
Develop a strategy to address immediate staffing challenges.
Compare and contrast financial implications with different options. (Amended by the council to read: “Compare and contrast financial implications and timelines with different options.”)

The plan foresees a progress report on May 2, and a completed report with key findings and recommendations by June 6.

After a modest tussle over Piccinini’s preference for a 24-hour staffing model, the council approved the Ad Hoc Fire Committee work plan with the amendments mentioned above.

See the whole plan here.

STAFF REPORT

City manager Larry McLaughlin was happy to report that the city has been awarded several grants.

The Highway Safety Improvement Program awarded the city two grants:

A $312,000 grant (plus replacement guardrails) for the western end of Bodega Avenue.
Roughly $216,000 to upgrade the pedestrian crossings on Highway 116 at Burnett (one of the city’s most dangerous crosswalks), Keating, Hutchins, and Walker.

The city also won a $200,000 grant from the county (District 5) for pedestrian improvements at Analy High School.

He also noted that the carefully watched Caltrans’ Sustainable Communities Transportation Planning Grant had been turned into Caltrans on time and that a response was expected during the summer.

You can watch the entire March 21 city council meeting here.

The next city council meeting is April 4 at 6 pm. You can see the agenda for that meeting here.