Shoreline City Council meeting January 9, 2012

By Devon Vose Rickabaugh

Shoreline City Council met on Tuesday January 9. Mayor McGlashan proclaimed January 16, 2012 as Martin Luther King Day in Shoreline. Two young men from Shoreline Youth Ambassadors (SYA) spoke. Forest Taylor said, “It’s time to stop and listen to other people’s side, so we can start to fix problems we’ve spent so long shouting about”.

Medical Marijuana

After a long discussion the council voted unanimously to amend the municipal code to say owners of medical marijuana collective gardens may not be convicted of a felony within 10 years of applying for a license to open a cannabis dispensary. Also the collective gardens may not store or sell cannabis from external spaces and parking areas around the dispensary. No minor may be on the dispensary grounds unless accompanied by a parent or adult. Councilmember Shari Winstead said to ban all minors from the waiting rooms of the dispensaries would cause hardship on parents needing to find babysitters. An audience member said that in the waiting room children are not exposed to the medication.

Park at Town Center

Shoreline Parks Department director Dick Deal brought forth for adoption the Vision and Phase 1 Master Plan for the Park at Town Center. Councilman Salomon said that the location of the park adjacent to Aurora would bring up safety issues and be underutilized. He questioned spending money on this project. Councilmember Winstead envisioned “a neighborhood urban park which will be used by by the citizens” especially in future housing developments close to the park. She said that a lot of work had gone into planning and vetting this park. The Vision and Phase 1 was adopted by all members with Councilman Salomon dissenting.

Tree City USA

Dick Deal said there were four standards to becoming a Tree City USA. A tree board must be created. He said the Parks Board would serve as the Tree Board. There must be a Tree City Ordinance. The city must maintain its urban forest. Finally an official Arbor Day must be proclaimed. Councilman Chris Roberts said he thought an independent tree board could provide more expertise in “how trees interact with the public and in understanding the value of trees in the city’s sustainability strategy.” Councilmember Doris McConnell said the cost of a stand-alone tree board would be too much for the city at this time. Councilmember Winstead suggested trying out the the parks board as the tree board for a year and then reevaluating to see if it is working. The council agreed to take up further discussion of the independent tree board versus the park department tree board at the meeting on January 23.