By Jacob Wilson/Garden Grove Journal
The Westminster City Council will meet this Wednesday with alarms, marijuana and flags on the agenda.
The council will vote to change the city’s annual residential alarm fee to a tri-annual fee. New alarm permit fees are currently $30 for both commercial and residential use with annual renewals at the same price. On Wednesday the council will vote on extending residential permits to three years with tri-annual renewal fees remaining at $30.
The fees are charged to owners of residential properties who want to set up alarm systems on their properties. According to staff reports “the proposed resolution specifies the residential alarm permit fee of $30 will cover a three year period and will be renewable every three years.”
The council will also consider scheduling appeal hearings for two associations that were recently denied business licenses. Golden State Patients Association and Alternative Therapy Patients Association both applied for business licenses for the purpose of opening medical marijuana dispensaries. If approved, the hearings will most likely take place at the council’s April 14 meeting.
The denials were primarily based on Westminster Municipal Code Section 17.06.060 which states that “no land, building, structure or premises shall be permitted to be used for any purpose prohibited by federal, state or local law or that would be in conflict with the Constitution or laws of California or the United States.”
Although limited medical marijuana use and cultivation is legal under California law and not-for-profit collectives have opened in many cities throughout the state, all marijuana use, cultivation and trafficking remains illegal under federal law.
The Vietnamese-American Community of Southern California is requesting permission to place American and Vietnamese heritage flags on Southern California Edison street light poles throughout Westminster from April 25 to May 9.
The flags commemorate the fall of the Republic of Vietnam on April 30, 1975. An event commonly known as “Black April.”
A full report of the meeting, including vote results, will be available online late Wednesday. A full story will also appear in next week’s print edition of the Garden Grove Journal.
