Residents call on City Council to pass resolution supporting ceasefire in Gaza Strip
Several residents of Union City say they want the City Council to pass a resolution supporting a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, half a dozen people, including Shamsa Rafay, a member of the New Haven Unified School District Board of Education, called on the City Council to demonstrate leadership by signaling their support for peace and a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci responded that the council would not be discussing a ceasefire but would advise the city’s Human Relations Commission to take up the discussion.
Residents across the Bay Area, including in Hayward and Fremont, have been calling for their city councils to pass ceasefire resolutions as the slaughter in Gaza continues, though few have decided to do so.
Council OKs developing process for authorized dispensaries to seek permit at new location
Union City may be getting a third cannabis dispensary, but the proposed location has residents concerned about safety issues.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 3-1-1 to direct staff to develop an administrative process that would allow cannabis businesses that have already received city support to seek a permit at a new location. Councilmember Gary Singh was opposed, and Councilmember Jeff Wang recused himself, saying his personal objection to cannabis would disallow him from making a fair decision.
In July, the Union City City Council signaled its intent to grant a cannabis retail permit to Embarc, which currently operates dispensaries in Redwood City and the city of Alameda, for a new location at 2625 and 2633 Decoto Road. However, residents of the community expressed their opposition to having a dispensary in their neighborhood, citing safety concerns after the recent attempted robberies at the city’s other two dispensaries, Flor in Union Landing and Lemonnade on Union City Boulevard.
Embarc requested a pause on the application process to allow for more community engagement. Businesses have six months to secure a resolution awarding a cannabis permit after the council signals its intent to award one, and the resolution of intent for Embarc is set to expire Jan. 10.
The new policy is expected to return to the City Council for approval Jan. 9.
Council approves MOU with San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
Union City and the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission are entering into a non-binding agreement laying out the roles and responsibilities of each as they prepare to expand the Altamont Corridor Express service to the Union City BART Station.
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously authorized the city to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the rail commission, which oversees the ACE service, stating how the two plan to collaborate on turning the BART station into an intercity rail station. The rail station project overlaps with other infrastructure projects the city has planned for the Station District.
Per the memorandum, the rail commission will spearhead the environmental review for the station, examining the partial and complete removal of 440,000 cubic yards of slag from the former Pacific States Steel site stockpiled on a 16-acre city-owned city known as the waste consolidation area. The plan is to use a part of this area to construct a layover facility for trains, with the potential for the city to develop the rest of the area if it is feasible to completely remove the slag.
The rights and responsibilities of each are expected to be refined further after the environmental review.
The partners are expected to seek a $3 million disbursement from the Alameda County Transportation Commission to complete the preliminary engineering and environmental review for the intercity rail project early next year.
