Lady Highlanders drive through Lancers See Sports Page 14
La Habra’s Independent Community Newspaper
www.lahabrajournal.com
No. 95471
January 28, 2016
LH council adopts coyote program
Here come the brides
By Jay Seidel La Habra Journal
Jay Seidel/La Habra Journal
All about the dress: Many soon-to-be brides, family members and friends check out one of the dress designs offered by a local dressmaker during a wedding dress fashion show at the city’s first Bridal Expo held last Sunday at Westridge Golf Club. Hundreds of attendees took part in the event. For more see Page 9.
Heights regulates marijuana The city council sets ordinance on regulating commercial cultivation of cannabis. By Daniel Hernandez La Habra Journal
Concerned about a possible deadline to act, the La Habra Heights city council voted January 14 to regulate the commercial cultivation of marijuana within its city limits. With a possible March 1 deadline looming enacted by the state, city officials drafted an amendment to the city’s development code and zoning ordinance of the municipal code, which would regulate the cultivation of cannabis. City Council voted unanimously to pass the amendment. “I personally don’t want to step on a resident’s right to grow for self
LA HABRA HEIGHTS
consumption. I don’t want to step into that arena at all,” LH Heights Mayor Michael Higgins said at the January 9 special meeting to pass the first reading of the ordinance. “All I want to do is prevent commercial cultivation for somebody to have a business selling marijuana.” The California legislature recently adopted and passed legislation referred to as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act to regulate medical marijuana. But the legislation also requires that cities need to act to garner local control of the issue before a March 1 deadline. Otherwise cities are mandated to follow the state law on this issue. The city attorney’s office recommended the ordinance amendment be adopted even though officials recognize that there is current legislation being worked on by the state to over-
turn the March 1 deadline. “I don’t think that we should just take it for granted that the assembly is going to positively do anything,” Councilman Kyle Miller said. “Local control is the issue.” City officials, heeding the city attorney’s advise, seem hesitant on trusting the state with its proposed revision, but city officials also seemed weary about trusting the state to regulate medical marijuana in general. “Personally I don’t want the state regulating what we do,” Councilman Roy Francis said. Initially the LH Heights Planning Commission turned down a previous draft ordinance presented by the city, stating that it was unacceptable at this time and should be held off until more study is completed. They noted that some limited personal cultivation should be allowed but agreed that commercial cultivation is unacceptable. See CANNABIS Page 4
The La Habra city council unanimously approved the adoption of a Coyote Management Plan at its meeting on January 19 that calls for greater education and creates a criteria for response. With the plan, the city will work to educate residents on the dangers of coyotes and how to best deter possible attacks on pets. According to La Habra Police Chief Jerry Price the plan allows for the coexistence of residents with urban coyotes using education and behavior modification to deter the likelihood of coyotes in neighborhoods. “Coyote trapping will be limited to coyotes that are sick, injured or exhibiting aggressive behavior toward people,” Price explained. The police department, which includes the city’s animal control unit, has been working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop this plan. They also contacted neighboring cities to find out what plans they might have initiated. None of the surrounding cities had a plan specifically for coyotes. Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach have recently initiated a plan for trapping the urban coyotes. Price explained that removal of coyotes in an area while surrounding areas are not doing anything to control it doesn’t result in any guarantee that the number of coyotes will decrease. The coyotes removed from an area will quickly be replaced by other coyotes. According to California law, coyotes cannot be released back into the wild. Coyotes that are trapped are euthanized. The city will make information on how to best deter coyotes available on its website, through the Life in La Habra magazine, mailings and social media. If coyotes are spotted in a neighborhood, residents can call LHPD and report the sighting.
WHAT ’ S INSIDE THIS ISSUE LHPD officer lives Star Wars dream
Collaborative holds Health Expo
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