WMG Volume 3 • Issue 15 August 3, 2016
Wilton Manors Gazette
Community
Medical
Meet The New Wilton Drive By Michael d’Oliveira
City to Restrict Marijuana Dispensaries By Michael d’Oliveira
In a city where equality for individuals is heavily promoted, commissioners want that same for Wilton Drive. On July 26, commissioners chose Concept 1 for the redesign of Wilton Drive. That plan calls for sidewalks on both sides of the street to be widened. Concept 2 only included the widening of sidewalks on the west side. The Florida Department of Transportation [FDOT] is tasked with designing the project but final approval rests with the commission. The city will hold future meetings to give the public a chance to comment on the design. Commissioner Julie Carson said business owners on both sides of the street should “get a piece of the pie to enjoy.” Vice Mayor Scott Newton said he was “looking to get the best bang for our buck.” Mayor Gary Resnick said he wasn’t a fan of “the east side being left out.” The redesign, known as a “road diet” will reduce the street from four lanes to two. The hope is that the reduction will improve pedestrian safety and make the street more appealing and helping business owners by attracting more visitors. In addition to widening the sidewalks, included in the plans are stamped asphalt crosswalks, additional trees and patio areas. But both sides won’t get exactly the same treatment. Those palm trees and patio areas will be placed in the middle of the new sidewalks but only on the west side of the street, according to the design presentation provided by FDOT.
The project is funded by the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. The project won’t cost the city any money unless officials decide to add additional landscaping, trees, benches or other features. Those extras will have to be paid for by the city. Additional parking spaces will also be added to the existing spots on the street but not many. Advocates of the reduction had hoped for a substantial number but Dwayne Darbonne, a consultant for FDOT, said it would not be a significant number. Commissioners have unanimously supported the redesign but not all the residents are in agreement. The most vocal opponent has been mayoral candidate Boyd Corbin. He’s made opposing Wilton Drive one of his campaign platforms, started a petition to that effect and called for more input from residents. Corbin has said reducing the street to two lanes will cause major traffic problems. Commissioners have said that Fort Lauderdale’s plans to narrow Northeast 4 Avenue now necessitate the need to narrow Wilton Drive. Not doing so, they say, will encourage drivers to speed up when they leave Fort Lauderdale and enter Wilton Manors. But at the July 26 meeting, Corbin countered that Fort Lauderdale’s plans for Northeast 4 Avenue could be reversed by restriping the road. In contrast, the plans for Wilton Drive involve altering the road structure and can’t be as easily undone. WMG
Medical marijuana legalization will be on the ballot this November and if it passes commissioners in Wilton Manors want to be ready to contain it. On July 26, commissioners voted 4-0 to place restrictions on where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located if a business owner wants to open one in the city. Commissioner Justin Flippen was absent. Previously, commissioners had passed a moratorium on dispensaries to give themselves time to come up with permanent regulations. The city can’t outright ban all dispensaries but, per previous court cases dealing with other controversial businesses, such as strip clubs, it can regulate where they are located. “These are coming and you need to zone them before you can’t control where they’re located,” said Mayor Gary Resnick. He cited a dispensary that opened in Tallahassee the day of the commission meeting. According to the Pensacola News Journal, another dispensary is planned for Pensacola. “I’m not opposed to medical marijuana. I just want it in the right location,” said Commissioner Tom Green. A second vote will have to take place before the regulations are finalized but the proposed law includes a minimum distance of 1,000 feet between dispensaries and other dispensaries, schools, daycare centers, houses of worship and licensed rehabilitation facilities. That leaves a maximum potential of four sites. Officials said they would clarify exactly where the dispensaries could be located by the next meeting on Aug. 23. The Aug. 9 meeting has been cancelled. Green wants to go further and prohibit dispensaries from being opened inside check cashing stores and pawn shops. He also worried about the impact a dispensary could have on a neighborhood and asked if they could be kept at least 1,000 feet away from homes. “I still don’t like this being next to
residential areas,” he said. City Attorney Kerry Ezrol said the city could not require dispensaries be located at least 1,000 feet from residential neighborhoods. Ezrol added that the only form of medical marijuana that doctors are allowed to prescribe by the state is known popularly as “Charlotte’s Web” and has been designed to be unusable for the purposes of getting high. Commissioners also voted on regulations regarding the operation of a dispensary, including requiring background checks. But Commissioner Julie Carson criticized the regulations as being too onerous. “I don’t like a lot of this.” In particular, Carson said she did not like that the city could close down a dispensary if the applicant, owner or manager was convicted of a felony. She didn’t think it was fair that the owner of the dispensary would have to pay for the mistake of an employee if the crime wasn’t associated with the dispensary. She added that it was important that the city not get in the way of allowing businesses to offer medicine to people who need it, just as it would not hinder pharmacies selling drugs to combat HIV/AIDS or cancer or any other disease. WMG
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