City Council is Asked to Reconsider 24/7 Security Requirement for Cannabis Dispensaries, Weigh Other Changes to Ordinance

Housing Element returns; police to get 2.8% raise amid cooling inflation data; city to ramp up police-recruiting efforts with incentive program; Old Train Depot negotiations; more refinery violations

Four months after a burglary suspect was shot and killed by police in the middle of the night at Velvet Cannabis on Sunrise Drive, the City Council is being asked to reconsider the requirement for 24/7 on-site security at the city’s retail cannabis dispensaries.

The proposal on Wednesday’s City Council agenda marks the latest twist in an issue beset with confusion and inconsistency since the fatal encounter at Velvet.

Despite a requirement in the city’s Cannabis Ordinance for on-site security at all times, there were no security guards present during the suspected burglary attempt that led to the officer-involved death of 20-year-old Tahmon Wilson on Aug. 18 at Velvet, a case that is currently under investigation by the state Department of Justice to determine whether officers’ use of force was warranted. The ordinance requirement notwithstanding, the city’s two retail dispensaries, Velvet and Embarc, were granted waivers from the requirement by police officials who approved their security plans upon beginning operation.

After the inconsistency was brought to light by this newsletter following Wilson’s death, City Manager Michael Chandler and police Chief Andrew White met with officials of the city’s two cannabis dispensaries and asked that they begin complying with the ordinance requirement for two on-site security guards 24/7. The dispensaries agreed.

But now the city is apparently having second thoughts. A staff report accompanying Wednesday’s agenda item on proposed updates to the Cannabis Ordinance notes that currently, only one other Bay Area jurisdiction that allows retail cannabis dispensaries (San Leandro) requires that more than one security guard be on-site, and only three other jurisdictions (Fairfield, Suisun City and Vacaville) require on-site security 24 hours a day, rather than just during hours of operation (or one-half hour before and after closing, as the case may be). The information was collected through a survey performed by the city’s cannabis consulting firm, HdL.

The staff report, prepared by Chandler, White and Planning Manager Michael Cass, suggests that a “more flexible approach representative of best practices would allow for the increasing or decreasing of the number and times for on-site security guards to be required, based upon crime trends and the success of deterrent measures, such as target hardening, remote surveillance, and random patrols, and issued at the discretion of the City Manager and Chief of Police.”

A report that White compiled after the Velvet officer-involved shooting showed numerous incidents of Velvet and Embarc being targeted by thieves since 2020, following a regional trend of retail cannabis dispensaries emerging as prime burglary targets.

Martinez resident Ben Therriault, a Richmond police officer who ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff and Martinez City Council last year, said the following at a September council meeting about his own experience responding to crimes at cannabis-related businesses.

As someone who has responded to these types of calls in other cities, commercial burglaries of marijuana dispensaries and grows are very serious things and they happen all the time, and usually people show up with weapons, sometimes a lot more than handguns; they show up with rifles and the like. These are things that are becoming a trend in the Bay Area and regionally, and unfortunately, it seems like Martinez is no different.

While there is no way to know whether the presence of security guards in the early morning hours of Aug. 18 would have resulted in a different outcome at Velvet, surveillance and police body camera footage released after the shooting at least raises the possibility. The suspects can be seen on video milling about in front of the dispensary for several minutes before police arrive upon the activation of a video alarm. The suspects can be seen quickly attempting to flee the scene in vehicles when shots ring out from police. The blue Infiniti driven by Wilson is seen on body camera video having crashed into a fire hydrant following a hail of bullets from police.

If the suspects had known immediately that security guards were present when they arrived at Velvet around 3 a.m., it’s plausible that they would have left the scene before police were called and/or arrived. It’s also plausible that there would have been a potentially dangerous encounter between the guards and the suspects that could have ended tragically, or that the police response would have been largely the same, leading to a similar sequence of events as occurred that night.

Beyond the security issue, Wednesday’s agenda item recommends several other revisions to the city’s Cannabis Ordinance, which was established in 2019. They include requiring applicants to propose specific measures to address diversity, equity and inclusion, and prohibiting advertising on any new billboards installed on property within the city limits. But the measures appear to fall far short of what some public health advocates have been pushing cities to do as concerns around youth cannabis use grow. And they fall short of what exists in Contra Costa County’s own Cannabis Ordinance governing retail dispensaries in unincorporated areas.

Each year, the Public Health Institute’s “Getting it Right from the Start” project to advance public health and equity in cannabis policy issues scorecards for each jurisdiction in the state that allows retail cannabis sales. The project grades jurisdictions on a 100-point scale, “with the higher score representing the more robust public health protections enacted over the last five years, and measured across six categories: retailer requirements, taxes and prices, product limits, marketing, smoke-free air, and equity and conflicts of interest.”

In the latest scorecard released in October, Martinez received a score of 24 points. Contra Costa County, on the other hand, received 50 points, the second-highest score in the state, and was lauded by the Public Health Institute for “showing national leadership by prohibiting the sale of flavored products for inhalation, widely known to hook kids.” Martinez does not have such a prohibition and is not proposing one in the staff report for Wednesday’s meeting.

While youths are not allowed in cannabis dispensaries by law, concerns have grown about the influence these dispensaries may have on youth experimentation with marijuana as well as access to products through second-hand means.

Contra Costa County, according to the scorecard, also imposes limits on “high-potency products,” something that Martinez is also not proposing. High-potency edibles, in particular, have become a growing source of concern for misuse among underage or inexperienced cannabis users, who can easily overconsume them because of their delayed psychoactive effects. There have been reports in recent years of a spike in emergency room visits by youths and others who experience severe reactions to overconsumption of cannabis products, including extreme confusion, anxiety, panic or paranoia, and vomiting.

Martinez is proposing other new regulations such as explicitly prohibiting “temporary cannabis events” (such as at concerts); prohibiting on-site consumption in cannabis businesses; and requiring the posting of on-site health information. All these steps would increase its score in next year’s “Getting it Right from the Start” scorecard.

Jason Soroosh, a policy research associate with the Public Health Institute, provided me the following statement about Martinez’s proposed revisions:

The Public Health Institute strongly supports Martinez’s proposed amendments to their local cannabis policies, which will help protect smoke-free air and keep kids from being exposed to advertising. They capture key evidence-based policy recommendations for best practices to protect youth and public health. We do feel they could be further strengthened in the following ways:  

1) In addition to requiring that cannabis business applicants propose specific measures to address diversity, equity and inclusion, the City of Martinez establish hard priority for equity businesses and policy to use cannabis tax revenues for youth programs or those that advance social, racial or economic equity;
2) Ensure that any new language prohibiting of cannabis advertisements on billboard applies to both any existing and new billboards in Martinez;
3) Prohibit deliveries to schools, daycare centers, or workplaces involving trucking or transportation in addition to those mentioned;
and 4) adopt Contra Costa's important prohibition on flavored inhaled products (e.g. the cannabis versions of flavored Juul e-cigarettes) that are well known to attract kids. 

In addition to the state-mandated 600-foot buffer between schools and dispensaries, Martinez is proposing to add the same buffer around parks and playgrounds. But Contra Costa County has a 1,000-foot buffer around schools, child care centers and youth centers. The “Getting it Right from the Start” scorecard awards points to jurisdictions that increase their schools buffer beyond the state minimum.

Although it fell outside the 600-foot buffer from Alhambra High School, the location of the Embarc dispensary on Alhambra Avenue generated significant community and school district opposition when it was approved in 2020 because of its prominent location along a corridor frequented by teens traveling to and from school, as well as bordering the Martinez Adult Education campus, whose clientele includes students who are under the legal age of 21 to purchase and use cannabis.

The Martinez Unified School District noted in its opposition at the time that the Main Street and Ferry Street business districts had been specifically excluded as potential locations for dispensaries, but the city seemed to have no problem placing them near schools. The district released a statement calling that decision “a gross oversight by the council” and evidence that it was “favoring the preservation of its downtown businesses over the safety of its young people.”

The Velvet approval was also mired in controversy because of its location next to a gym that at the time was attended by youths; the gym has since closed.

The specific proposals that the council is being asked to consider on Wednesday can be found in the following staff report: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2339785/Staff_Report_-_Cannabis.pdf

Depending upon what direction the council gives Wednesday, city staff could bring back a proposed Municipal Code amendment for further consideration at a public hearing on Jan. 17.

Housing Element revisions

The long and winding road to adoption of Martinez’s 2023-31 Housing Element figures to reach the finish line on Wednesday with the City Council approving the revised document based on feedback it received from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), which ultimately is responsible for certifying it.

Once the Housing Element is certified, it will serve as a road map for the city to try to meet its state-mandated housing targets over the next seven years — something it has failed at miserably (like many other cities) with previous Elements.

If history repeats itself and Martinez again misses its targets by a mile, it will come as a major disappointment to state legislators who clamped down on cities’ lack of progress in addressing the affordable housing crisis by forcing them to include various incentives to try to spur development, while greatly limiting their ability to block housing proposals under pressure form anti-development (sometimes referred to as NIMBY) interests.

The goal of the city’s Housing Element will be to accommodate the creation of a specific number of housing units in various income categories, as detailed in the below chart.

While the city lacks the power to build these units directly or to force others to build them, various provisions in the Housing Element are designed to create the framework and incentives for development to occur naturally — assuming developers and others show the will.

The actual mechanisms expected to facilitate such development are highly technical (as evidenced by the 379-page length of the Housing Element), but some of the general areas of focus include incentives to boost the creation of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); fee reductions and/or deferrals to spur creation of low-income housing; flexible parking standards for developments; rezoning areas and creating minimum unit densities as needed to accommodate the various housing targets; and partnering with religious institutions on the creation of affordable housing and emergency shelters.

Given that the Housing Element is already nearly a year overdue (the deadline was Jan. 31, 2023), and that it has been the subject of multiple public meetings involving both the Planning Commission and City Council stretching over a year, there should be little to debate on Wednesday about the final product. Once it is certified, the major issue will be implementation and how hard city officials, the public and other stakeholders work to make its goals a reality. As HCD told the city in its September letter outlining revisions necessary to gain certification:

Public participation in the development, adoption and implementation of the housing element is essential to effective housing planning. Throughout the housing element process, the City should continue to engage the community, including organizations that represent lower-income and special needs households, by making information regularly available and considering and incorporating comments where appropriate.

Another extension in Old Train Depot talks?

When the council granted yet another extension in April to continue exclusive negotiations between the city and Martinez Historical Society on efforts to turn the Old Train Depot downtown into a local history museum and exposition center, Mayor Brianne Zorn made clear that the council’s patience on a process that began in 2021 was wearing thin.

“I just want to voice my support for wrapping this up by the end of 2023,” Zorn said at the time, adding that if another extension request surfaced in 2024, “I think we might get some frustrated votes at that time.”

Well, the time has come, and sure enough, another extension request is before the council at Wednesday’s meeting. The council is being asked to continue the exclusive negotiations by up to 120 days, from Dec. 31, 2023 to April 29, 2024.

Whether there will be frustrated votes for the latest extension request, as Zorn predicted, remains to be seen.

The negotiations between the two entities started back in May 2021 and were originally scheduled to expire by the end of that year. They have been extended four times since.

In April, the council created an ad hoc subcommittee consisting of council members Mark Ross and Satinder Malhi to try to expedite a resolution. According to a staff report accompanying Wednesday’s extension request, the Martinez Historical Society has made progress in developing a business plan for the site, but the council subcommittee in November “expressed concerns that there are still many issues to address before the City can determine if the proposed project is financially feasible or advantageous to the City’s economic development efforts.”

As a result, the subcommittee is asking for yet another extension. Also included in the proposal is the transfer of $50,000 from the Cultural Impact Fee fund for the preparation of construction drawings and specifications, as well as an Historical Resources Evaluation.

More refinery violations

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) hit the Martinez Refining Co. with more violations this week, this time over a grass fire that was triggered Sunday by refinery flaring. This comes on the heels of violations issued over a major flaring event on Friday that caused strong odors in the community and triggered a Level 2 alert through the Contra Costa Community Warning System, indicating possible health impacts for sensitive populations.

The latest violations, as detailed in the BAAQMD incident report, are as follows:

• Regulation 1, Section 301 - Public Nuisance

• Regulation 6, Rule 1, Section 301 - Visible emission standard exceeded

• Regulation 40 CFR 63.670(c) – Federal visible emissions standard exceeded

• Regulation 5, Section 301 - Illegal fire on a no burn day

Sunday’s grass fire at MRC. BAAQMD photo

Community activists are planning to attend Wednesday’s City Council meeting and speak out about the latest incidents at MRC, and MRC itself is scheduled to provide a regular bi-monthly update to the council. It should be noted, however, that the City Council has no regulatory or oversight powers over the refinery. The refinery falls under the jurisdiction of Contra Costa County and its Industrial Safety Ordinance, and its emissions are regulated by BAAQMD, so Wednesday’s discussion will be informational only. Also, many of the neighborhoods directly affected by the refinery’s operations are in unincorporated areas outside Martinez city limits and beyond the purview of the City Council.

The county is currently pursuing an independent safety culture assessment of MRC, as well as a root cause investigation into the November 2022 spent catalyst release, both of which should be completed sometime next year. BAAQMD, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have all been involved in investigating various aspects of MRC’s operations and incidents over the past 13 months.

Police salary increase, recruitment program

Members of the Martinez Police Officers Association (MPOA) will get a 2.8% wage increase in 2024, as will police captains, commanders and lieutenants, according to an item on Wednesday’s consent calendar (which is typically not discussed at meetings). The wage increase matches the October Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region.

This will be the smallest raise granted to the MPOA since before inflation became a major economic concern, and reflects the substantial cooling of cost-of-living increases seen over the past year. Below is a chart listing the raises the MPOA received in 2022 and 2023, a period when the city substantially boosted officer pay not only because of inflation concerns but also recruiting and retention challenges amid a staffing crisis.

Although the MPOA received two separate wage increases in both 2022 and 2023, there are no additional increases currently scheduled in 2024 beyond the 2.8% hike, though the council could always choose to bump pay again if the staffing woes continue.

The modest police wage increase for 2024 contrasts with the 9.5% raise currently being sought by Martinez Unified School District teachers, on top of 19% in pay increases over the past two years, a situation that has led to an impasse in negotiations between the teachers union and school district. MUSD is facing a long-term structural budget deficit and risks depleting its emergency reserve fund within the next few years if labor costs continue to increase substantially. It has countered with a 4% pay increase proposal (3% salary, 1% benefits contributions).

The city is facing similar budget challenges as one-time funding from the COVID-19 pandemic expires and increasing labor costs collide with stagnant tax revenues amid a declining population (something the aforementioned Housing Element has the potential to stem).

Meanwhile, with the Police Department still grappling with staffing shortages, the city is planning to implement a recruitment-incentive program, including a referral bonus of up to $5,000 to any city employee who refers a candidate who is hired as an officer by the city. The program also includes $5,000 in relocation assistance for any officer who remains employed by the city for at least two years; and an academy training reimbursement of up to $5,000.

According to a staff report accompanying the recruitment-incentive agenda item, the Police Department is anticipated to have seven vacant, full-time sworn positions at the beginning of the year, out of an authorized sworn force of 37.

Wednesday’s regular council meeting begins at 7 p.m., preceded at 6 p.m. by a special study session on the future management of Alhambra Hills Preserve (also known as Alhambra Highlands). Information on both meetings and how to attend in person or remotely can be found at the following link: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2341378/SR_-_Police_Officer_Recruitment_Incentive_Program.pdf

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