July 24, 2023 West St. Paul City Council meeting

West St. Paul City Council: July 24, 2023

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A debate over marijuana in parks got the most attention at last night’s West St. Paul City Council meeting, with other topics including affordable housing, opioid response, and dead trees.

Marijuana in Parks?

With the state’s legalization of marijuana effective August 1, cities are dealing with the potential implications. The latest: Whether or not to allow smoking marijuana in parks.

  • Decision: During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), City Council had mixed feelings with several members reluctant to enact restrictions. Ultimately, they asked the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to consider whether any restrictions were necessary.
  • Format: The discussion quickly focused on smoking as edibles would be impossible to enforce. Any smoking restrictions would also need to cover all types of smoking, whether tobacco or marijuana.
  • News: The issue is getting wider media attention, including coverage from Fox 9 and a mention in MinnPost.

Discussion:

  • Second-hand smoke: “I would like to see us prohibit smoking of any kind in our parks and our sidewalks… because it does have a secondary effect on people who are allergic to smoke, kids, etc.” -Council Member Julie Eastman, noting that Dakota County parks, including Thompson Park, don’t allow smoking.
  • Personal vs. public: “It’s legal for personal use, when you bring it into a park, then it’s not so personal, you’re making it public to the people around you who don’t want it.” -Council Member Pat Armon
  • Enforcement: “We’d be putting something in code we don’t want you to enforce. … That’s what I’d be worried we’re doing, I don’t want to give you an assignment that I don’t actually want you to do.” -Council Member Lisa Eng-Sarne
  • Overthinking: When Police Chief Brian Sturgeon said no one complains about smoking cigarettes in parks, Mayor Dave Napier said, “We might be overthinking this. I’d recommend we do nothing right now. I don’t think it’s enforceable.”

More on the Agenda

  • Parks and Recreation: After complaining about residents leaving garbage in parks, Mayor Napier awkwardly segued into introducing Eric Weiss, the new director of parks and recreation, engagement, environment, and sustainability. City Manager Nate Burkett described Weiss as the ‘missing piece’ for parks.
  • Affordable housing: West St. Paul expects to receive around $300,000 per year from a new metro area sales tax dedicated to affordable housing. The city will develop a program to offer rental assistance to individuals and families. Burkett noted that there were 100 eviction notices filed in the city last year, and this funding would have enabled the city to help all of those people stay in their homes.
  • Opioid response: West St. Paul is teaming up with South St. Paul and South Metro Fire to apply for opioid epidemic response funds from the state. They’re asking for $500,000 to $900,000 to fund a proactive program that focuses on health/prevention and not criminalization. The goal is to reduce the number of overdoses via treatment and offer support and resources to those not ready for treatment.
  • Dead trees: An OCWS conversation about dead and diseased trees was pushed to after the regular City Council meeting. The city is mostly keeping up with trees on city property and trees on private property are handled through complaints and nuisance ordinances. Rather than tighten code, Council directed staff to do more enforcement within the confines of existing ordinances.
  • Drive thrus: With more interest from developers in offering drive-thru options for restaurants after COVID, city staff reviewed existing code and recommended a series of changes to tighten restrictions and give more clarity to developers. City Council approved the changes as proposed.
  • Club house addition: Charlton West Apartments on Mendota Road is adding a 2,000-foot club house, as well as private pickleball court and dog park. City Council approved the changes unanimously.
  • Charter changes: City Council approved the three minor changes to the city charter—selling city property via resolution instead of ordinance (speeds up the process); a clarification that Council members appointed to a vacancy are full members (this codifies standard practice); and language stating that special elections comply with state law.

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