CURBING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES
Sacramento County’s Zoning Code does not permit the operation of any marijuana dispensaries or marijuana-related distribution businesses, and business licenses to operate these businesses are not available. Notwithstanding that prohibition, numerous establishments have popped up operating without licenses and, once reported, they are investigated. Recently, the Board of Supervisors authorized stepped up enforcement practices on medical marijuana facility operators and those property owners who allow such facilities to operate in violation of our local planning and building regulations.
As part of the enhanced enforcement, progressive administrative penalties are being used, including:
• Up to $500 per day for zoning code violations
• Up to $1000 a day for building code violations
• Use of liens against the property for unpaid penalties
• Injunctions against facilities and property owners to shut down facilities.
This increased enforcement appears to be generating closures of many establishments although others indicate the desire to litigate the issue. The reports to date, however, are encouraging -- 65 out of 99 identified illegal dispensaries in the unincorporated area have closed including 6 out of the 8 stores on Fair Oaks Boulevard in Carmichael.
In light of the success of the County’s enforcement activities as well as recent court decisions and increased enforcement activity by the federal government through the U.S. Attorneys, the County Executive now is recommending to discontinue pursuing any kind of regulatory permitting plan and instead maintain the status quo of keeping dispensaries illegal. As a result, the Planning Division is expected to bring new language forward clarifying in the Zoning Code that no activity is allowed that is against state or federal law.
SHERIFF’S NOVEMBER COMMUNITY MEETINGS
The Sheriff’s Department holds regular community meetings to share information about trends in crime and recent activities. During November several meetings will be held for residents living in the unincorporated area.
The North Highlands/Foothill Farms meeting will be held on Thursday, November 3, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the North Highlands Community Center, 6040 Watt Avenue.
The Old Foothill Farms meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 9, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Pioneer Elementary School, 5816 Pioneer Way.
The Carmichael meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 15, 6:30 p.m., at the Del Campo High School Library, 4925 Dewey Drive.
The Fair Oaks meeting is regularly scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of the month and was cancelled due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The Arden-Arcade meeting was scheduled for November 1 prior to the distribution of this newsletter.
REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY AT PATRIOT'S PARK
Patriot’s Park serves as a lasting monument honoring a special group of individuals who served our community and nation. Saturday, November 5, the community will gather to honor and remember the 12 names on the park’s Wall of Honor. Each honoree had a connection to the Carmichael area and made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, law enforcement or fire protection.
The ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. The public is welcome to attend to pay tribute to all of the wall’s fallen heroes. The park is located at 6827 Palm Avenue in the Carmichael Recreation and Park District.
VETERANS DAY
In honor of Veterans Day on November 11th, I will be participating in the City of Sacramento’s 1st Annual Veterans Day Parade. The parade begins at 10 am on 3rd Street and proceeds to Capitol Mall and finishes on 9th Street. The parade’s theme will be “Honoring Our Heroes Past and Present” and the Grand Marshall will be General Chuck Yeager who served in WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam War, but he is best known as the man who broke the sound barrier. The parade will include veterans, marching bands, vintage military vehicles, community organizations and armed forces partners.
In observance of Veterans Day, Sacramento County offices will be closed on Friday, November 11th. As always, garbage service will continue as well as all emergency services. All offices will return to their normal business hours on Monday November 14th.
CLEAN SEAL OF APPROVAL
September was National Food Safety Education Month and nearly 800 restaurants and eateries in Sacramento County earned an Award of Excellence in Food Safety. Several were selected by the County’s Environmental Management Department to represent their peers for outstanding food safety practices in a special ceremony before the Board of Supervisors including El Palmar Mexican Restaurant located at 2452 Mission Avenue in Carmichael.
To qualify for the award, a food-service operation must not have any major food-safety violations in its three most recent health inspections, which are performed unannounced and conducted up to three times a year. Approximately 5,500 restaurants, retail markets, bakeries, bars and schools are inspected annually by the County EMD for food safety compliance.
Among the food facilities countywide earning a certificate were some of my favorite places -- Nopalitos on H Street and The Wienery on Elvas Avenue both in East Sacramento, Bandera on Fair Oaks Boulevard, Leatherby’s Family Restaurant on Arden Way, and chef Shafika Mangal who operates The Palace banquet hall in Carmichael on Fair Oaks Boulevard which is the site of many community functions.
Is your favorite food facility a 2011 Award of Excellence for Food Safety recipient? You can view a listing online of all award honorees at www.foodinspect.saccounty.net. 
PROTECTING THE PARKWAY
The Board of Supervisors is officially on record opposing the plan to put a new large federal-state operations center next to the American River Parkway near Lake Natoma and the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.
If the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, the National Weather Service and the State Department of Water Resources have their way, a joint operations center will be built that will be around 200,000 square feet in size and be home to up to 600 employees open 24 hours in a very sensitive area by the parkway.
Our board adopted a resolution in September opposing the project citing how it would clash with the parkway and damage the scenic vistas and natural habitat enjoyed in the parkway’s Upper Sunrise area. One of the goals of the American River Parkway Master Plan is to preserve the parkway’s natural resources which are being threatened by this project. The Master Plan was endorsed by the county, the city of Sacramento and, ironically, the state of California whose Department of Water Resources is one of the agencies pushing for the objectionable location.
A draft environmental impact study identifies two other alternative locations outside the Parkway that are more appropriate than the site being preferred by the federal and state authorities.
A public meeting was held in September at the CSUS Aquatics Center where the County’s official position was delivered. Last month I was a member of a local delegation opposed to the project that met with state officials to voice our concerns about this threat to the parkway. The County also will be submitting formal written comments as part of the environmental impact process that are due by November 7 to the Bureau of Reclamation’s Division of Environmental Affairs.
CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL MARATHON ON DECEMBER 4
Thousands of runners are expected to be racing through our neighborhoods in the Third District on Sunday, December 4, during the 29th annual California International Marathon. The 26-mile grueling trek begins 7 a.m. in Folsom and concludes at the State Capitol.
Fair Oaks Boulevard is part of the route so Fair Oaks, Carmichael and Arden Arcade residents can expect to experience delays. These closures may cause some inconvenience so please be cognizant of that when planning your morning activities.
MAKING A SAFE ROUTE TO SCHOOL
The County Department of Transportation is in the process of performing preliminary design work to improve conditions for a safer route to Mary A. Deterding Elementary School in Carmichael.
In September a community meeting was held at the school to gain input on possible improvements. Among the items under consideration are curb and sidewalk infill on the east side of Panama Avenue between Palm Drive and Stanley Avenue as well as sidewalk ramps meeting requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the intersection of Panama Avenue and Homesweet Way.
Funding is being provided through the State of California’s Safe Route to School Grant Program. Construction is tentatively scheduled for Spring of 2013. For more information, please contact Senior Civil Engineer Stephen White who is the project manager at 874-5354.
HAZEL AVENUE PHASE 1 DONE
Motorists on Hazel Avenue traveling over the American River Bridge between U.S. Highway 50 and Curragh Downs Drive in Fair Oaks now have more vehicle lanes with the completed widening from four to six lanes under the first phase of the Hazel Avenue Improvement Project. This is a big step forward in relieving congestion on this vital north-south corridor.
Hazel Avenue has a current traffic demand of up to 55,000 vehicles per day and was designed to handle just 36,000. The widening of the bridge was a natural first step in moving toward reducing congestion and improving safety. Future phases will complete the widening northward to Madison Avenue.
Besides providing immediate benefits for motorists, construction improvements included new bicycle, pedestrian and equestrian facilities to improve connections to the American River Parkway. Most notable is the separation barrier keeping those modes of transportation away from vehicle traffic on the bridge over the American River.
Costs of the Phase 1 construction amounted to $22 million and were covered with a combination of Developer Fees, Measure A Sales Tax funds and State and Federal funding sources.
SPECIAL PARKWAY CLEAN UP SCHEDULED
Saturday, November 5, the American River Parkway Foundation is scheduling a special all volunteer clean up to target the lower portion of the Parkway that's been impacted by homeless camps.
This special call for help follows the successful annual clean up held in September that collected 13,875 pounds of trash and 1,490 pounds of recyclable material – all during the span of three hours.
Please consider helping between the hours of 9 am to12 pm on that Saturday to combat the illegal dumping, littering and debris left behind. Volunteers must be at least 14 years of age to register for this event and must be accompanied by an adult if between the ages of 14-17. The assembly area will be at Northgate Boulevard at Hwy 160.
You can register for this event by contacting the American River Parkway Foundation by emailing them at volunteer@arpf.org or call 916-486-2773 COPPER THEFT IMPACTING STREETLIGHTS
County streetlights are being targeted by copper thieves resulting in whole neighborhoods staying dark.
The rate of copper theft has accelerated in recent weeks resulting in more than 1,000 street lights out of service. The damage is extensive and affects the wiring in the pole as well as the underground conduit. SACDOT is bringing on additional resources to do the repair work but estimates there is a three month backlog for repairs since over 66 street light circuits have been damaged throughout the County.
SACDOT also is finding that once the wiring is replaced the thieves are returning to the fixtures. Measures are being taken to prevent future thefts. Exposed pull boxes are being filled with concrete and hand-hole covers are being welded shut after the copper wire is replaced.
SACDOT has spent over $160,000 since January fixing vandalized areas. If your County streetlights are out, please report it online or call 875-5171. SPECIAL KVIE FLOOD PROGRAM
Our Central Valley, stretching from Redding to Bakersfield, has experienced some of California's most devastating floods. In addition, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's risk for flooding is higher than anywhere else in the nation. For those of us living between the American and Sacramento Rivers, flood management remains a safety concern.
This month you can learn about the past, present and future of flood management in California's Central Valley, highlighted in a new public television documentary, “Overcoming the Deluge: California's Plan for Managing Floods.”
Sacramento's KVIE Public Television Channel 6 is scheduled to air this special program on Wednesday, November 9 at 7 pm; Friday, November 11 at 4 pm and Sunday, November 13 at 6 pm.
VISITING WITH NEIGHBORS
Having the opportunity to meet and visit residents in a casual setting is much more relaxing than going through a formal appointment for a meeting downtown at the County Administration Center. Last month a number of neighbors took advantage of that opportunity and visited with me during my “Office Hours” at the concert at Foothill Community Park on October 1. A week later I visited the North Highlands area participating in that community’s 10th Jubilee on October 15 held at Freedom Park.
Later I visited with Fair Oaks residents at Dianda’s Italian Bakery and Café during the October Community Coffee Meeting that has been an on-going tradition dating back to when the late Dave Cox was on the Board of Supervisors. The following week I was back in North Highlands with Supervisor Phil Serna at the Pancake Palace for the North Highland Community Coffee Meeting.
Neither of those meetings will be held for November and December due to the holidays. A new schedule for 2012 starting in January will be published on my webpage and I will publicize the coming year’s meetings via this e-newsletter, too.
The Sierra Oaks Neighborhood Association’s fall meeting also was on my calendar for October.
And during the last weekend of the month I attend a memorial dedication at the Coast Guard Air Station at McClellan Park honoring the crew of the HC-130 Rescue Aircraft 1705 that was lost in 2009 while performing a mission searching for a missing boater off the coast of California. That crew was stationed here in Sacramento County.
The next day, on October 30, I joined many Arden Park residents in celebrating the 10th anniversary of that community’s annual tree planting day, which started in 2001 to replace the old Modesto Ash trees. Arden Park is noted for its wonderful tree canopy which is being preserved and furthered by this volunteer activity. Since its inception, this community effort has resulted in the planting of almost 1,600 trees.
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
For all of you that have a Facebook account please feel free to check out my new Facebook fan page and I invite you to like my page so you can be notified of my postings. I will be putting information about events, activities and constituents within the Third District on the page periodically. Also please be sure to check out the pictures posted that commemorate events or accomplishments by citizens in the district. The page can be found by searching for Supervisor Susan Peters within the facebook site or you can access my page by clicking the link. 
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