Livingston council OKs trash scavenger ban and smoke shops

Despite one council member calling it “dumb” and “ridiculous,” an ordinance that penalizes people for rummaging through other people’s trash is one step closer to becoming law.

The ordinance, which prohibits “unauthorized entry” into waste containers and punishes violators with fines, passed its first reading with a 4-1 vote at the Livingston City Council meeting Tuesday.

Councilman David Mendoza didn’t hold back his criticism of the ordinance, which was put on the agenda by the mayor, before casting the lone dissenting vote.

“This is kind of dumb. We’re going to have police on garbage patrol?” Mendoza said Tuesday. “This is just going to be a waste – I mean, how much did it cost to do this ordinance? I’ve never gotten one complaint about this.”

According to the ordinance, trash is left on sidewalks after people scour through trash bins looking for recyclables and other materials. The trash is unsightly, poses sanitary risks and attracts pests. It also gives thieves access to personal information that could lead to identity theft, the ordinance stated.

Mendoza publicly asked City Manager Jose Ramirez and Councilman Arturo Sicairos whether they’ve gotten complaints about people digging through garbage containers. Both answered no.

But Mayor Rodrigo Espinoza said he’s received numerous complaints over the years from residents.

“The citizens have sent me pictures of people going through their trash cans,” Espinoza said. “People kind of feel violated, especially these days with so much identity theft. Thieves can pose as rummagers for recyclables and go through personal property.”

City Attorney Jose Sanchez said trash scavenging is already prohibited in Livingston, but the new ordinance establishes fines and penalties. People caught digging through someone else’s trash would first get a warning, followed by a $25 fine for the second violation and $50 on the third.

The Livingston City Council on Tuesday also took the first steps to allow smoke shops and lounges to operate in the city’s downtown commercial district.

After a lively debate and one failed motion to ban the shops from downtown, the council passed the ordinance’s first reading by a 3-2 vote. Mayor Pro Tem Gurpal Samra and Councilman Jim Soria voted against it. Despite at first saying he didn’t want to see smoke shops downtown, Espinoza changed his mind and voted in favor.

The ordinance includes the Planning Commission’s recommendation that smoke shops must obtain a conditional use permit and stay at least 500 feet away from another smoke shop, school, library, public park or church. Two planning commissioners – Chairman Luis Enrique Flores and Mario Mendoza – applauded the council’s decision on Tuesday.

The debate over smoke shops is not a new issue in Livingston. The City Council in December 2013 passed an emergency moratorium to prohibit smoke shops after two individuals tried to open them in downtown Livingston.

Councilman David Mendoza criticized his fellow council members for a second time, saying they are blocking the city’s growth. “You know they sell all this stuff in other stores already,” he said. “I don’t know what you guys are trying to stop. You’re not stopping nothing. You’re just stopping revenue from coming to the city.”

But Merced County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Framstad, one of the department’s lead drug investigators, said smoke shops often sell illegal drugs. He said the smoke shop Livingston blocked last year opened about a mile from his home in Ceres.

“You can go out there any given time of the afternoon, and you’re going to see 18-year-old kids stopping there and buying hallucinogens for their friends,” Framstad said. “And if that’s an image you want to bring to your city, I encourage you to talk to the city of Ceres and see what it’s done for them. It’s caused nothing but problems.”

Both the smoke shop and waste container ordinances still have to come back to the City Council for a second public hearing and possible adoption.

This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Livingston council OKs trash scavenger ban and smoke shops."