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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - April 21, 2004 Public CommentContinued April 21, 2004 Mayor Hansen replied that he met with the Small City Preservation Committee about the subject and had subsequently asked Interim City Attorney Schwabauer to research the issue of vesting, which will be brought back to Council for further discussion. • Bill Crow stated that the railroad tracks on Cherokee Lane between Lockeford Street and Victor Road have been abandoned for some time; however, buses are still required to stop before proceeding on. He suggested that the tracks be paved over and the crossing signs removed. Mayor Hansen asked City Manager Flynn to look into Mr. Crow's concerns. + Joyce Harmon warned that mistletoe is destroying Lodi trees at an alarming rate. She has been working since January 2003 to educate the public about mistletoe. Seven trees have died during the past year. In the five to seven years it takes a tree to die from mistletoe, Lodi will lose about 40 mature trees. Some of the worst infested trees are on City property. She urged Council to find the necessary funds to make Lodi's heritage trees a priority. • Lee Taylor submitted a petition (filed) signed by 29 residents of south Church Street stating that mistletoe diseased trees are on City easements, and requesting that they be taken care of. Mr. Taylor suggested the use of grant funds. City Manager Flynn replied that the mistletoe on the trees of the two blocks of south Church Street would be removed within a month. • Ann Cemey asked for a moratorium on large retail establishments until the proposed initiative has been voted on. She noted that the concept of vesting is a complicated one and conflicts in the matter are usually determined by court action. Treacy Elliott, representing the Small City Preservation Committee, requested that a moratorium be placed on the processing of large-scale retail development, including all projects currently in the pipeline until after the General Election in November. The Committee's concern centers on the subject of vesting. Failure to put a moratorium in effect may allow the Wal-Mart Supercenter development to become vested if it has not already. The Committee feels that without a moratorium in place, with wording that will make the election results retroactive to a pre -vesting point, the efforts of the initiative's proponents will have been in vain. If the project becomes vested, the effect of the initiative on it will be null and void. A carefully worded moratorium enacted by the Council will ensure that the voters of the City get to decide what is right for Lodi. Joe Pacino read the following editorial published in the January 26, 2004, San Diego Union Tribune: One way to look at President Bush's amnesty plan for illegal immigrants is through the lens of the Southern California groceries shut down. Employers such as Wal-Mart already under investigation for hiring illegal immigrants and other malpractices will use amnestied workers to drive wages and benefits down still further. The grocery business is living on the edge and not just in California traditionally. Grocery workers have been able to make a decent living. The wage of full-time unionized clerks averages $15 an hour,• $25,000 to $35,000 annually depending on the hours worked. In addition workers have had health care benefits. At these levels grocery clerks survived in this region in spite of its high real estate prices. Offen they had long commutes especially if their stores were in affluent neighborhoods, but for decades these workers were as much a part of America's solid middle class as service workers anywhere. They owned houses, raised families, took comfort in belonging to America's company -based health care systems. Along comes Wal-Mart. The world's largest business whose revenues equal an astounding 2% of the United State's Gross Domestic Product, and whose power rivals that of great trusts of a century ago. Specifically Wal-Mart resembles the great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, which in its heyday owned 80% of the supermarket business until Washington used the trust laws to whittle it down to size. Wal-Mart plans to open 300 Supercenters this year alone. That includes new stores and expansions of existing 5 PETITION MARCH 2004 WHEREAS, we the homeowners and residents of South Church Street, Lodi, do feel that the trees for which our street is notPre in imminant dan er of dying from mistletoe infestation, and 40 v+" /3AP hl*; -4-5j i WHEREAS, these trees are an asset environmentally as well as financially through their influence on our property values, and WHEREAS, dead and dying trees will be more expensive to trig or remove in the future,and WHEREAS, the diseased trees are on city easements, We petition the CITY of Lodi to make the care of these trees an immediate cause for action. 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