Get The Press App! Local news you can trust.
All day. Any day. Anywhere. Free download. Install today!
Vol. 24, No. 29
YOUR HOMETOWN NEWS SOURCE | WWW.THEPRESS.NET
Council OKs campaign finance reform
Housing shortage addressed
A local MLB All-Star
by Melissa van Ruiten Staff Writer
Meanwhile, in Antioch, illegal cultivation, while not completely absent, has been less of a problem, according to reports. Antioch Interim Police Chief Steve Ford told the Sentinel that his city hasn’t seen any illegal grow houses in the last year. An illegal warehouse grow operation was discovered months ago, which resulted in code enforcement officers imposing sanctions and the destruction of the plants. Antioch has several licensed dispensaries within its city limits. “As crazy as it sounds, I’d like to think that (the availability of dispensaries) has helped mitigate the need for people to want to try and erect a weed house or
BRENTWOOD After several months of discussion, the Brentwood City Council took a step toward fixing the city’s housing shortage because it has fallen far short of its state-mandated housing goals. The new amendment to the Municipal Code, approved at the council’s July 12 meeting, will require developers to set aside 13% of future housing projects to be available as affordable housing units. This is up 3% from the current requirement and pertains to both rentals and owner-occupied homes. For ownership units, the ordinance, in its current iteration, mandates 3% for very-low income, 4% for low income, and 4% for moderate income. For rentals, it is 5% each for verylow and low-income units, with no requirement for moderate income. It also provided developers the option to pay an in-lieu fee to avoid having to build any belowmarket-rate homes in proposed single-family developments, but in-lieu payments for rental projects were by approved waiver only. Changes under the new amendment will make the percentages for both owner-occupied and rental units the same. Very-low and low income will remain at 3% and 4%, respectively. However, the requirement for moderate-income units will be raised to 6%. While this is a slight decrease for very-low and
see Pot page 18A
see Housing page 18A
Panel imposes contribution limits by Jake Menez Staff Writer
BRENTWOOD Brentwood’s City Council has decided unanimously to limit the dollar amount residents can contribute to local election campaigns. The 4-0 decision to limit campaign contributions to $500 per contributor per candidate was made at the July 12 council meeting. Vice Mayor Johnny Rodriguez was absent. State law allows cities to set up their own campaign contribution limits, according to City Attorney Damien see Council page 18A
Photo courtesy of the Oakland A’s
H
eritage High School alum Paul Blackburn, now a member of the Oakland A’s, had a near perfect one-inning appearance in the Major League Baseball All-Star game on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Blackburn tossed a scoreless fourth inning, getting Trea Turner to pop out to first base, before Willson Contreras reached base on an error. Blackburn finished up the frame by forcing future Hall of Famer Albert Pujos to fly out and Bay Area foe Joc Pederson of the San Francisco Giants, to strike out. Blackburn, who was drafted out of high school in 2012, was making his first appearance in the game.
Brentwood combats illegal pot market “ Public safety is the top priority for the City
Staff Writer
BRENTWOOD It’s been six years since California passed Proposition 64, which legalized recreational cannabis use. However, illegal cultivation remains an issue in some cities, including Brentwood. State cannabis regulations allow residents to grow up to 6 plants for personal use. Since 2017, Brentwood has regulated cannabis activity in the city and incorporated the requirements of state law into its municipal code, allowing the city to levy administrative citation fines for cannabis violations of cultivation of over six plants. The Brentwood
and Brentwood and we will not tolerate illegal criminal activity.
Municipal Code is unclear on whether administrative citations may be issued on a per property or per plant basis, prompting the City Council to approve their new ordinance, which clarifies that an administrative fine can be placed on each cannabis plant cultivated over the number of plants allowed by state law, according to the press release. Brentwood Police Lt. Wal-
Calendar ���������������������������������������������������������������������6A Classifieds ����������������������������������������������������������������15A
Serving East County
|
”
Brentwood Mayor Joel Bryant ter O’Grodnick told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that the city had seen upwards of 15 grow houses in the past 18 months, with larger homes, especially with three-car garages, being attractive for such operations. This degree of illegal cannabis cultivation poses significant health and safety risks to residents and is likely part of larger criminal networks, the city’s press release stated.
Milestones �����������������������������������������������������������������9A Opinion �����������������������������������������������������������������������8A
To subscribe, visit www.thepress.net/subscribe
SAVE NOW
$20 OFF Repairs $100-$200 $40 OFF Repairs $201-$400 $60 OFF Repairs $401+UP
|
D MEDAL OL RD
2021
G
by Melissa van Ruiten
AWA
THE PRESS Y OA K LE
G
FAIRVIEW HEATING & 2021 AIR CONDITIONING, INC. D MEDAL OL RD
AWA
D
THE PRESS O RE NT WO
B
Get The Press App! Local News ~ On Demand
July 22, 2022
Service • Repair • Installation
Contractor’s Lic. #533790 C-20
925-625-4963 • www.fairviewair.com
Pets.............................................................................12A Sports.........................................................................10A CLOCKED IN
To advertise, call 634-1441
with
Improve your health, beauty
Chief speaks on Gabe case
Page 1B
Page 14A