The elimination of California redevelopment agencies will create ‘carnage’ on city projects unless the state gives communities more time to respond and adapt to a recent court ruling, Santa Rosa City Manager Kathy Millison said Friday.

On Monday, a proposal to lift the Petaluma’s 4-year-old ban on marijuana dispensaries stalled in a 3-3 deadlock. Mayor David Glass said he might have supported the proposal three months ago, but the recent federal crackdown has tempered his views on medical marijuana. “I just don’t think at this time, in this environment, it’s the right thing to do because of the risks that are there,” he said. Do you agree with the council’s decision?

Lawyers argued Friday before a packed courtroom about a controversial asphalt plant proposed for the Petaluma River that was approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors despite community opposition over potential environmental effects.

Petaluma Mayor David Glass has begun treatment for bladder cancer. He says the disease is in its early stages, is treatable and that he will continue conducting city business during his medical care. “I’m fully capable of conducting city business and I’ll be able to run the council meetings,” he said.

St. Vincent de Paul High School may now proceed with plans to modify its athletic fields after the Petaluma City Council on Monday agreed to sell back to the school a narrow strip of land the school gave the city a half-century ago. Some councilmembers wanted to return the donated land for free, while others wanted to sell it for money. See the compromise crafted by Mayor David Glass.

After citizens complained in August about the cost of a taxpayer-funded dinner in Healdsburg, some members of the Sonoma County Mayors’ and Councilmembers’ Association promised to take another look at the event. Petaluma sure did that. For its rotation as host of the bimonthly event on Thursday, the city will treat other cities’ leaders to a tour of the local sewer treatment plant. Dinner will follow.

For now, the Petaluma City Council will keep public comments at the beginning of the meeting.The council discussed making various changes Monday night, but in the end, took no formal action. City Attorney Eric Danly said the city’s rules are flexible enough to handle excess or rambling speakers on a case-by-case basis.

Efforts to further regulate fireworks in Petaluma appear to be gaining momentum. Mayor David Glass supports a ban on all fireworks in Petaluma, but concedes that there likely isn’t community or City Council support for that alternative. Instead, the city could reduce the number of permits to sell fireworks or require booths to be operated by Petaluma residents.

As a test next week, the Petaluma City Council will shift the public comment section to the end of its meetings. Councilmembers are fed up with a steady stream of public comments that have bogged down recent City Council meetings, many on topics not within the control of city leaders. “What we’re getting is public comment that over and over, almost at every meeting, is not germane to this jurisdiction,” Mayor David Glass said.

With another couple of thin financial years projected, one Petaluma City Council member thinks it might be time to revisit the idea of increasing the city’s bed tax to raise revenue. During a broader discussion about the city’s current spending plan, Councilwoman Teresa Barrett said a bump in the hotel occupancy tax could help balance future budgets.