Ordinance 1153, which pertains to providing the regulation of medical marijuana facilities in the borough, passed its final reading with a 7-0 vote at the Feb. 6 Emmaus Borough Council meeting.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopted a law April 17, 2016 which “legally removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess a signed recommendation from their physician stating that marijuana ‘may mitigate’ his or her debilitating medical symptoms.”

Since this law has been put into place, several groups have expressed interest in placing a medical marijuana facility in the borough. Council said they wanted to be proactive by adopting the ordinance which will allow council to determine where growers, processors and dispensaries can go along with how they will be governed.

Borough Solicitor Jeffery Dimmich explained the ordinance is patterned after an ordinance done by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

“So basically what we’ve done, is we’ve taken a model ordinance, amended it to fit the Borough of Emmaus’s needs where we think things would be appropriate because of their particular activities, and that is what is before you,” Dimmich said. “What we really did was look at where there are dispensaries and there are grower processors and we try to treat them in accordance with those types of uses.”

For instance, he said the dispensaries are treated like pharmacies and are put in the commercial zones, while growing processors are considered industrial and light industrial, so they are put in those zones.

There is also a regulation that will not allow any facility to be located in a 1,000 foot radius of a school. In regard to this regulation, it was noted by the LVPC, council may want to review this because it restricts one of the zones.

“Their only concern is only in one location,” Borough Manager Shane Pepe said. “The Hildenbrandt Learning Center is located within 1,000 feet [of a zoning area], they just want us to look at that, and in our position, to me, would be simply the Hildenbrandt Learning Center could close at any time.”

“Not only that, but their implication is by putting that in, you’re further restricting the areas within the zone that people could put these facilities in,” Dimmich said.

Dimmich said while their reasoning is rational, at this point in time he does not think it is something council has to address. Pepe added the light industrial zone extends further than 1,000 feet from that building, so it would only be restricting part of the zone.

There were no comments or questions from residents in the audience.

In other news, Councilman Wesley Barrett has come up with a pedestrian crossing identification flag program council unanimously passed 7-0.

Barrett said 18 residents have been hit by vehicles in the borough during the last five years, whether it be from vehicles speeding or not stopping at crosswalks and stop signs.

In an attempt to lower that number, Barrett suggested a program in which a pole with a tube is placed on both sides of a busy intersection. In those tubes will be five brightly colored orange flags residents will take with them while crossing the street and then place back in the tube on the new side.

Barrett said he tested this on the intersection of Second and Harrison Streets.

“Without any introduction, I wanted to put it up and see if parents would embrace it, and within the first day of going back and forth, there was instant chatter, everyone embraced the flags, and none were stolen” Barrett said. “Now I’d like to make that something that is a permanent piece to the borough. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but my trial worked.”

The Halloween in Emmaus 5K race, which is run by Barrett, is going to donate the money for the flags. The cost for the project will be under $20 per intersection.

Pepe said if anyone has any recommendations to feel free to email him or send in a request to the borough. The project will be advertised in the upcoming summer and fall newsletter as well as the borough website.

Pepe said as of now there are 10 spots where they have talked about installing the program which include the intersection of Second and Harrison streets, the intersection of Fifth and Chestnut Streets and the intersection between Wells Fargo Bank and Licensed 2 Grill.

The Electronics Recycling Policy was passed which will help regulate the drop-off of electronics in the borough.

Councilman Jeff Shubzda said there were a few reasons for this policy, one being the issues associated with residents dropping off large items.

“We were having issues with very large items being dropped off where we had to remove those items from the back of trucks, from the back of trunks, and from the back of seats of cars,” Shubzda said. “What happens is it causes problems with people [borough employees] trying to move the items.”

Pepe said they had two worker’s compensation injuries that resulted from removing large televisions from resident’s vehicles. The new policy states residents who are dropping off electronics must remove them from their vehicle themselves. Once unloaded from their personal vehicle, the borough employees will then load it into the Dumpster.

The other reason for the policy is an attempt to limit the amount of electronics being dropped off. Pepe said not only were residents dropping off multiple television sets at once, but commercial businesses were dropping off box trucks filled with televisions.

In an attempt to stop residents from bringing electronics from out of town residents, there will be a fee put in place. A resident or business who is dropping off any more than three electronics per month, will be charged an additional $10 per item.

All of the information regarding the new policy will be printed in the upcoming spring newsletter. In addition to the newsletter, residents will be handed a copy of the regulations when they come to drop off electronics.

Council voted to approve phase 1B and phase 2 of the Fields of Indian Creek project. Phase 1B contains an open space area along the Leibert Creek, and phase two consists of 32 units situated in the northwest corner of the property. While these phases are not located within the corporate limits of the borough, it was still recommended that council approve the phases.