Here are a few items the council...

Here are a few items the council considered Tuesday.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

An outright ban on facilities that distribute medical marijuana

still isn’t official, after the council failed to pass a second

reading of the ban it first approved June 21. Although California law

allows medical use of marijuana, federal drug laws say any marijuana

is illegal. Some cities, including Newport Beach, have put

moratoriums on marijuana dispensaries while they decide whether to

allow them and how to regulate them.

The city’s Planning Commission recommended setting rules for the

facilities, but at the June 21 City Council meeting, the council

voted, 3-2, to ban them.

WHAT IT MEANS

Because Councilman Gary Monahan was absent, the marijuana

dispensary ban got a tie vote -- Councilwomen Linda Dixon and Katrina

Foley voted no; Councilman Eric Bever and Mayor Allan Mansoor voted

yes. That means it failed but will come back for a final vote at the

next meeting.

FAIRVIEW BIKE TRAIL

City public services employees will approach Orange County

officials about creating a bike trail along the Fairview flood

control channel, after the council unanimously agreed to pursue the

trail. The city needs permission from the county and will have to

amend the master plan for the trail.

WHAT IT MEANS

A bike trail could be built at Fairview Park to connect Placentia

Avenue to the Greenville/Banning and Santa Ana River bike trails.

BROWN ACT COMPLAINT

The council revoted two items from a May meeting in response to a

complaint from Dixon. On June 15, Dixon filed a complaint alleging

that a note Bever passed to Councilmen Monahan and Mansoor on May 17

violated the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state’s open-meetings law.

At the time, the council was discussing funds donated by C. J.

Segerstrom & Sons and IKEA. Bever has said the note was intended to

move the debate along, not to build consensus. To remove any

uncertainty about the May votes, the council on Tuesday agreed to

allocate the donations as it had before. As to whether the Brown Act

was violated, Dixon said she’d be satisfied if her colleagues

acknowledged they made a mistake, which Bever did. Mansoor apologized

for any misunderstanding over the incident, and Monahan was not

present at the meeting.

WHAT IT MEANS

The $200,000 from the Segerstroms will go to maintain the Estancia

Adobe and Segerstrom homestead. A $500,000 contribution from IKEA

will go toward a playground for developmentally disabled children and

athletic facilities at Costa Mesa’s two high schools. The council did

not vote on whether a Brown Act violation occurred.