One theme of the opponents of the task forces studying both cannabis and permit parking is that the work has been done out of the public eye, with the meetings sprung on them at the last minute.
Council member Eve Niedergang, chair of the Cannabis Task Force, seemed mindful of that in a January 14 e-mail to various residents who have come forth in opposition and support of the task force recommendations.
One hour at the March 29 meeting will be allocated for presentations, she announced, with 30 minutes each for the proponents of the Task Force recommendations and the opponents. “Members of this group (or others they would like to work with or who express an interest in being involved, or any outside experts, paid or unpaid) can take up to 30 minutes total (combined) to present the points that they would like considered. There can be up to 5 individual presenters. Please do not exceed the 30-minute time limit as we want to leave plenty of time for input from the public."
After the hour of presentations, Niedergang continued, “the floor will open for public comment - no more than three minutes per person, with each person having one opportunity to speak (on rare occasions a member of the public is allowed a second chance for public comment but that is not typical practice). The presenters will be able to stay (or return to the screen) for the public comment section of the meeting so that they can respond to questions. The Mayor runs the meeting and recognizes the speakers.”