Pubdate: Tue, 15 Jun 2010
Source: Martinez News-Gazette (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Gibson Publications
Contact:  http://www.martinezgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5153
Author: Greta Mart, Staff Reporter

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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MAP posted-by: Jo-D