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Council to reconsider bad ordinance PDF Print E-mail
Written by Martin Williams   
When Councilman Ignacio De la Fuente pushed City Council last summer to close most of the medical marijuana dispensaries and disperse the remaining four, opponents of the plan got a promise that the ordinance would be revisited in six months.
    That time period has come and gone without the scheduled review, but the negative effects of a bad decision are there for everyone to see.
    Thanks to "De la Fuente’s folly," more patients now rely on street dealers. The lack of on-site consumption forces dispensary patients to smoke on the streets, and almost a dozen buildings sit vacant that only recently brought medicine to patients, rents to property developers, and tax revenue to city coffers.
    Sidewalks are now empty, trash blows against shuttered doors and “For Lease” signs again hang in windows and on walls. Customers once ate and shopped here, security guards kept a watchful eye, and shopkeepers swept up and decorated storefronts to create an inviting environment. City voters signaled last fall that they want to bring that back.
    People who want safe access and local prosperity restored to downtown should contact City Council members to ask that the limits be repealed or the number of licensed dispensaries increased to 20 along with other modifications, such as allowing on-site smoking in ventilated areas.
    New businesses are ready and eager to reopen at these locations, whether under the umbrage of an expanded medical marijuana dispensary ordinance or merely as private adult clubs under Measure Z. It' s time for the Council to get out of the way of progress and the future of the city.

Show pride in Oaksterdam!
    Please do not litter — always pick up your trash. A city ordinance requires that storefronts keep the sidewalk in front of their business clean, so do your part. Report any persistent garbage problems to keep Oaksterdam clean and attractive.
 
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