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Councilmember McGovern suggested staff consider installing flashing signs. City Manager Fialho said in the next couple of weeks, a traffic calming program would come to the Council for Alisal and Sycamore. Mayor Hosterman called for a brief break and thereafter, the Council reconvened its regular meeting with all members present. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OTHER MATTERS Public Hearing: 22. Receive status report regarding community needs for medical marijuana, Alameda County’s Identification Card Program, dispensaries within the County, and effects of dispensaries operating in other jurisdictions; Assistant City Attorney Larissa Seto gave the staff report, said the moratorium does not allow a storefront to open to sell medical marijuana, but qualified patients can continue to use medical marijuana within community. When Council reviewed the matter in July last year to extend the moratorium, they asked for more information about medical marijuana and issues that were going on in the community; specifically were the needs of residents being met. were there operations in Alameda County with regard to their identification card program and how that was proceeding, as well as dispensaries operating in the County, and lastly, what information could staff gather about dispensaries operating throughout the state that were not having crime or negative secondary effects which was the information staff presented with regard to the moratorium. Ms. Seto provided a brief overview of the legal issue at the California State level, the federal level and some recent litigation in cases that have been proceeding. She said cities have taken various approaches to the issue, some adopted a moratorium on dispensaries, outright bans, and some allow dispensaries to operate. At the state court level, Americans for Safe Access challenged some of the cities that had adopted regulations prohibiting dispensaries, but none have gone to final court action for resolution. At the county level, some have gone to state court to challenge Sacramento’s requirement that they actually adopt an i.d. card program. Most recently, a state senator has asked for an opinion, which has not yet been issued, about whether or not, under current state law, storefront dispensaries are legal and also, if elected officials allow storefront dispensaries, could they be subject to any type of civil or criminal liability if those dispensaries then operate in violation of law. In response to Council’s questions, Ms. Seto they asked various public health groups in the community for them to provide information of patients, Tri-Cities Health Center prescribes medical marijuana of these four organizations; however, they did not ask all doctors and clinics. They have been told that east county residents do not feel comfortable going to the dispensaries in Hayward and Oakland and would prefer to have a dispensary in the east county. There is also discussion about whether Pleasanton should be serving the needs of its residents and it had been suggested a task force or other study be looked at. Staff also contacted Alameda County staff about their i.d. card program which is operated in compliance with state law, she discussed the requirements, but to obtain an i.d. card was a voluntary decision by a patient or caregiver, so someone could still go to a dispensary without having to have an i.d. card. Alameda County indicates that those who City Council Minutes 5 June 5, 2007