Modesto to talk about regulating recreational marijuana

The City Council on Tuesday will talk about what steps Modesto could take now that recreational marijuana is legal in California, get an update on efforts to extend Altamont Corridor Express trains to Modesto, and consider hiring a company to relocate the utilities for the courthouse project.

The council will discuss marijuana and the ACE trains during workshops after its regular meeting.

California’s voters approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act in November. The act allows the personal use of marijuana by adults 21 and older. As many as six plants can be grown in a private residence, though that can be subject to local regulations. Local governments also can ban outdoor cultivation, retail sales and other commercial activities.

The council in January 2016 banned patients and caregivers from growing medical marijuana.

ACE trains connect Stockton and southern San Joaquin County to the East and South bays. ACE is working on projects to run more trains on its current routes and extend service to Modesto and eventually Merced. But funding remains an issue. It could cost $200 million to extend ACE to Modesto. ACE also is in the early planning stages of extending service to Sacramento. ACE officials will provide council members with the update.

The council will consider hiring R&R Pacific Construction of Woodland for as much as $272,313 for work associated with relocating the above-ground utilities in an alley at the site of the new proposed Stanislaus Superior Courthouse on a block bounded by G and H streets and Ninth and 10th streets. The contractor will put in a trench and conduits for the utilities. The utility companies would install their utilities.

Community and Economic Development Director Cindy Birdsill said the utility companies would charge Modesto for the installation work. She said the project is on budget. Modesto sold the block for the courthouse to the state after bundling the parcels it owned with parcels it bought from property owners. The city is required to use $367,000 from the sale to relocate the utilities.

The $262 million courthouse will replace the overcrowded, outdated downtown courthouse. But California faces a funding crisis over paying for new courthouse facilities across the state, including the Modesto project. Officials are working to solve it, and design work continues for the Modesto project.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. in the basement chambers of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St.

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Modesto to talk about regulating recreational marijuana."