San Diego Public Safety Committee Meeting - June 7, 2017
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San Diego Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - June 7, 2017
The Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee met on June 7, 2017, to discuss two major public safety issues: tobacco retailer enforcement and the enforcement of illegal marijuana dispensaries. The committee received reports from the San Diego Police Department, Code Enforcement, and the City Attorney's Office, heard from numerous public speakers, and approved a motion to request a report on illegal marijuana delivery services. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote on the motion.
Consent Calendar
- Adopted the record of action items for April 26, 2017 by unanimous consent.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tobacco Items: Residents and representatives expressed concerns about hookah lounges, citing noise, crime, and regulatory violations. Specific speakers: Mauricio Rios (College Area Community Council) called for an ordinance to close hookah lounges between midnight and 8 a.m.; Michael Rossman (restaurant owner) reported crime near his business; Scott Shipman (San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods) highlighted the transfer of alcohol licenses to hookah lounges; William Purno (Central Region Prevention Coalition) raised concerns about youth access and advertising.
- Marijuana Enforcement: Public speakers expressed support for enforcement against illegal dispensaries but raised concerns about illegal delivery services and advertising. Rocky Goyle (Apothecare, United Medical Marijuana Coalition) and Phil Rath (United Medical Marijuana Coalition) emphasized the problem of illegal deliveries and offered partnership; Peggy Walker and Scott Shipman urged action against illegal delivery and advertising.
Discussion Items
- Tobacco Retailer Ordinance Update (Information Item): Lt. Kevin Meyer and Officer Joel Sandoval presented the annual tobacco report for calendar year 2016. They reported 1,056 tobacco permits issued, 96 violation notices, 127 covert inspections resulting in 14 citations for illegal sales to minors (an 11% rate, up from 8% in 2015). They also reported collecting $200,226 in fees. Committee members asked about enforcement gaps and the fee structure; Chief Zimmerman noted staffing constraints and legal limits on fees (Prop 26).
- Marijuana Dispensary Enforcement Update (Discussion Item): Mike Richmond (Code Enforcement), John Hemerling (City Attorney), Diane Silva Martinez (Chief Deputy City Attorney), and Mark Skiels (Chief of Special Prosecutions) reported that only 3 illegal storefront dispensaries remain operating, after shutting down over 240 since 2011. Courts have ordered over $8 million in civil penalties and $240,000 in investigative costs. Since May 2016, SDPD executed 27 search warrants, producing 21 criminal complaints and 35 convictions. The discussion focused on the shift to illegal delivery services and the need for new enforcement tools. Committee members expressed support for a motion to request a report on delivery services enforcement and potential new tools.
Key Outcomes
- Motion passed unanimously: Requested the City Attorney's Office, SDPD, Code Enforcement, and other relevant departments to work together to develop recommendations for additional enforcement tools against illegal marijuana operations and to analyze the scope of illegal delivery services, reporting back within 120 days (or up to 6 months).
- No further action on tobacco; the report was accepted as informational.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. Like to call the June 7th, 2017 meeting of the public safety and livable neighborhoods committee to order. We have a quorum consisting of Vice Chair Bree, committee members Zaf and Ward. We're gonna start with non-agenda public comments. Martha Welch, I'm talking about retention. We have problems with overtime and low pay. You want lead to part-time open station. That's what happens because we're gonna have to police you know please police. Because every time we do this, uh is a negative flaw flaw because every every year. I know how you do the job I know trainings uh on time uh one year of training on the job. I heard that in a meeting one time, and it really shocked me. But if we don't have academies, you'll be we'll never get up higher because right now people going out 13 and then one two people and it goes down like that. So what's gonna lead? What's going on happened to our police stations? I've gone to three of them, they're closed. I don't know what's going on. I've been to uh 43rd, uh Western and downtown, and they're closed, so I don't know what's going on. And I call in a complaint, it's online, so you know, and it takes hours to get to anybody for that reason. So this is uh I was a citizen, you know, and I don't like what's going on with this. Um if we uh if we don't fix this, we'll have no police someday because it's going it's a negative flow. And also, I noticed that now on the committees you don't have backup over there, just one book. Well, it's not back there anymore like it used to. So that's another thing I like to talk about. This is the committees are changing a lot because you don't give the backup to the people anymore to research stuff anymore. Uh on uh back on the counter. It used to be a lot of piles, but now it's gone. Perfect. We're gonna move on to committee member comments. Any comment by members of the committee? No. Mayor, IBA, C attorney comments. No, perfect. Our adoption agenda today is the record of action items for April 26th, 2017, which will be adopted by unanimous consent unless pulled otherwise. See on seeing none. Moving right along. We have one item on the consent agenda. Mr. Ward. Thank you, Chair. Um, don't wish to pull. I'm happy to move the consent agenda, but on the topic of uh uh police helicopters, I am just hoping we can engage with the department. I receive a lot of uh comments from neighbors that are concerned about the low flying of uh the police helicopter over normal heights and university heights in particular, so I hope I can engage with your department at some point soon and learn a little bit more about your your policies around the operations. Um, but with that I'm happy to move the item. Perfect. I will second all those in favor. Aye. That passes unanimously. We will move on to uh information item, item number two, which is a report from the San Diego police departments regarding tobacco retailers ordinance updates. We have Lieutenant Kevin Meyer and Officer Joel Sandoval here. Gentlemen, good afternoon.
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