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Ord 12-10ORDINANCE NO. 12 -10 WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City the health, safety and welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of e CiMLDI regulations pertaining to land use and develop piihM WHEREAS, pursuant to LDR proposed text amendment at a public b that the changes be approved; WHEREAS, sitting as the Local I the goals, objectives, 1, BeachlWe autho to protect Beach has thMthority to make of Delr ach; and P oning Board reviewed the voted 6 to 0 to recommend 4(4)(c), the Planning and Zoning Board, e change is consistent with and furthers Plan; and City of Delray Beach adopts the findings in the of Delray Beach finds the ordinance is BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE FLORIDA AS FOLLOWS: the recitations set forth above are incorporated herein. Section 2. That Appendix "A ", "Definitions", of the Land Development Regulations of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, is hereby amended as follows: PHARMACY Shall mean a retail establishment primarily offering goods for retail sale and on -site dispensing of prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs or both. A retail pharmacy may also offer accessory services such as photo processing, eyeglass care, etc. No more than 10% of the total sales cITWkin o P%M A— --.;-A ...... I— A -- ;--A C «..«. 4-L.o ..,.1„ -r C..L. -A-1- TT ,........ ..,..11,..7 ....1. ............._ _.. �- listed in Florida Statute 893.03 All pharmacies shall be staffed by a state licensed pharmacist Section 3. That should any section or provision of this ordinance or any portion thereof, any paragraph, sentence, or word be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof as a whole or part thereof other than the part declared to be invalid. Section 4. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances flict he shall be, and the same are hereby repealed. Section 5. That this ordinance shall become second and final reading. PASSED AND ADOPTED in regular sesslWn secon final re'M&Wthis 2010. on day 2 ORD. NO. 12 -10 0 M► I DI► M.7:1►11111► I TO: Mayor and City Commissioners FROM: Paul Dorling, AICP, Director Planning and Zoning THROUGH: City Manager DATE: July 1, 2010 SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM 12.A. - REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 6, 2010 ORDINANCE NO, 1240 ITEM BEFORE COMMISSION Consideration of a City- initiated amendment to the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that will revise the definition of Pharmacy. BACKGROUND Pharmacy is currently defined in the City's LDRs as a retail establishment primarily offering goods for retail sale and on -site dispensing of prescription drugs, non - prescription drugs or both. A retail pharmacy may also offer accessory services such as photo processing, eyeglass care, etc. The proposed new definition of Pharmacy originally included the following additions: "No more than 50% of the total building or floor area of the business shall be devoted to the sale and storage of prescription drugs. Further, no more than 50% of total sales can be derived from the sale of Schedule 11 controlled substances as listed in Florida Statute 893.03. All pharmacies shall be staffed by a state licensed pharmacist." These changes are to follow -up on recent changes to medical office regulations which address recent practices (pain clinics), including prescribing and distributing Class II, III, and IV narcotic prescription drugs at these facilities. These recent changes prohibited the distribution of these substances at medical offices, and only allowed them to be dispensed at pharmacies. It was anticipated that distribution would only occur at conventional pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens, etc.). To assure that the original intent of the Ordinance is met and to minimize the potential for abuses, clarification of what constitutes a pharmacy is now being considered. REVIEW BY OTHERS The Planning and Zoning considered the request at their June 21, 2010 meeting. There was a significant discussion about the requirements for retail components and the amount of Schedule II thresholds. The Board had concerns that references to building floor area maximums for sale and storage of prescription drugs would hurt small pharmacies which may have minimum ancillary retail sales components. While the Board agreed that Schedule II controlled substances should be restricted they felt the 50% maximum was too liberal and should be reduced. The Board unanimously recommended approval of the Ordinance, subject to the elimination of the retail threshold language and retention of the 50% maximum Schedule II threshold, on a 6 to 0 vote (Deborah Dowd absent), by adopting the findings of fact and law contained in the staff report and finding that the amendment is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and meets criteria set forth in Section 2.4.5(M) of the Land Development Regulations. No one from the public spoke on this item. Since that meeting, additional inquiries as to reasonable maximum thresholds of Schedule II sales have been made and the maximum total sales numbers have been revised downward to a maximum of 25 %. The ordinance has been revised to eliminate the reference to maximum floor area ratios for prescription drugs /retail sales and Schedule H thresholds have been reduced accordingly. RECOMMENDATION By motion, approve on first reading Ordinance No. 12 -10, by adopting the findings of fact and law contained in the staff report and finding that the amendment is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and meets criteria set forth in Section 2.4.5(M) of the Land Development Regulations. PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD STAFF REPORT MEETING DATE: JUNE 21, 2010 AGENDA NO: IV. A. AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDERATION OF A CITY - INITIATED AMENDMENT TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS (LDR), AMENDING APPENDIX "A ", "DEFINITIONS ", TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF PHARMACY. ITEM BEFORE THE BOARD The item before the Board is to make a recommendation to the City Commission regarding a city- initiated amendment to Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that will revise the definition of Pharmacy. Pursuant to Section 1.1.6, an amendment to the text of the Land Development Regulations may not be made until a recommendation is obtained from the Planning and Zoning Board, BACKGROUND /ANALYSIS Pharmacy is currently defined in the City's LDRs as a retail establishment primarily offering goods for retail sale and on -site dispensing of prescription drugs, non - prescription drugs or both. A retail pharmacy may also offer accessory services such as photo processing, eyeglass care, etc. The new definition of Pharmacy includes the following additions: "No more than 50% of the total building or floor area of the business shall be devoted to the sale and storage of prescription drugs. Further, no more than 50% of total sales can be derived from the sale of Schedule II controlled substances as listed in Florida Statute 893.03. All pharmacies shall be staffed by a state licensed pharmacist." Schedule II controlled substances are currently accepted, but have a severely restricted medical use in treatment in the United States (usually for severe chronic pain and cancer patient use) because they have a high potential for abuse. Abuse of the substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. These changes are to follow -up on recent changes for medical office regulations which address recent practices (pain clinics), including prescribing and distributing Class II, III, and IV narcotic prescription drugs at these facilities. These recent changes prohibited the distribution of these substances at medical offices, and only allowed them to be dispensed at pharmacies. It was anticipated that distribution would only occur at conventional pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens, etc.). To assure that the original intent of the Ordinance is met and to minimize the potential for abuses, clarification of what constitutes a pharmacy is now being considered. Planning and Zoning Board Meeting, June 21, 2009 LDR Amendment — Amended definition of the term "Pharm REQUIRED FINDINGS Comprehensive Plan Conformance LDR Section 2.4.5(M)(5) (Findings) requires that the City Commission make a finding that the text amendment is consistent with and furthers the Goals, Objectives and Policies of the Comprehensive Plan. A thorough review of the Comprehensive Plan was conducted and although no specific goal or objective relates to the proposed ordinance, it is noted that the ordinance is not inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. REVIEW BY OTHERS Courtesy Notices Courtesy notices were provided to the following homeowner and civic associations: ■ Neighborhood Advisory Council Letters of objection and support, if any, will be provided at the Planning and Zoning Board meeting. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS A. Continue with direction. B. Move a recommendation of approval to the City Commission of the amendment to the Land Development Regulations, amending Appendix "A ", "Definitions ", to revise the definition of Pharmacy, by adopting the findings of fact and law contained in the staff report, and finding that the text amendment and approval thereof is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and meets the criteria set forth in LDR Section 2.4.5(M) C. Move a recommendation of denial to the City Commission of the amendment to the Land Development Regulations, amending Appendix "A ", "Definitions ", to revise the definition of Pharmacy, by adopting the findings of fact and law contained in the staff report, and finding that the text amendment and approval thereof is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan and does not meet the criteria set forth in LDR Section 2.4.5(M) (motion to be made in the affirmative). RECOMMENDED ACTION Recommend approval of the amendment to the Land Development Regulations, amending Appendix "A ", "Definitions ", to revise the definition of Pharmacy, by adopting the findings of fact and law contained in the staff report, and finding that the text amendment and approval thereof is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and meets the criteria set forth in LDR Section 2.4.5(M) Attachment: ■ Proposed Ordinance 12 -10 2 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting, June 21, 2009 LDR Amendment — Amended definition of the term " ORDINANCE NO. 12-10 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMNIISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, BY AMENDING APPENDIX "A ", "DEFINITIONS ", TO ENACT A REVISED DEFINITION FOR "PHARMACY ", PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE, A GENERAL REPEALER CLAUSE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach has the authority to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, the City Connriission of the City of Delray Beach has the authority to make regulations pertaining to land use and development within the City of Delray Beach, and WHEREAS, pursuant to LDR Section 1.1.6, the Planning and Zoning Board reviewed the proposed text amendment at a public hearing held on June 21, 2010 and voted _ to _ to recommend that the changes be approved; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Florida Statute 163.3174(4)(c), the Planning and Zoning Board, sitting as the Local Planning Agency, has determined that the change is consistent with and furthers the goals, objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach adopts the findings in the Planning and Zoning Staff Report, and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach finds the ordinance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMNIISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the recitations set forth above are incorporated herein. Section 2. That Appendix "A ", "Definitions ", of the Land Development Regulations of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, is hereby amended as follows: PHARMACY Shall mean a retail establishment primarily offering goods for retail sale and on -site dispensing of prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs or both. A retail pharmacy may also offer accessory services such as photo processing, eyeglass care, etc. No more than 50% of the total building or floor area of All pharmacies shall be staffed by a state licensed pharmacist Section 3. That should any section or provision of this ordinance or any portion thereof, any paragraph, sentence, or ward be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such 3 Planning and Zoning Board Meeting, June 21, 2009 LDR Amendment — Amended definition of the term "Pharmacy" decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof as a whole or part thereof other than the part declared to be invalid Section 4. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith shall be, and the same are hereby repealed Section 5. That this ordinance shall become effective unnediately upon its passage on second and final rearing. PASSED AND ADOPTED in regular session on second and final reading on this day Of 2010. MAYOR ATTEST: City Clerk First Reading Second Reading rd Page 1 of 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Commissioners FROM: David T. Harden, City Manager DATE: July 23, 2010 SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM 10.B. - REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING OF AUGUST 3, 2010 ORDINANCE NO. 12-10 ITEM BEFORE COMMISSION This item is before commission for second reading to consider a City - initiated amendment to the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that will revise the definition of Pharmacy. (Staff has requested the item be postponed until the August 17, 2010 City Commission Meeting) BACKGROUND Staff is recommending that Ordinance No. 12 -10 be postponed to August 17, 2010 due to further revisions that are being made to the ordinance. RECOMMENDATION Recommend postponement of Ordinance No. 12 -10 to August 17, 2010. http:// miweb001 /Agendas/Bluesheet.aspx ?ItemlD =3541 &MeetingID =266 8/30/2010 Page 1 of 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Commissioners FROM: David T. Harden, City Manager DATE: July 16, 2010 SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM 10.A. -REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 20.2010 ORDINANCE NO. 12 -10 ITEM BEFORE COMMISSION Item before commission is for second reading to consider a City - initiated amendment to the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that will revise the definition of Pharmacy. BACKGROUND At the July 6, 2010 City Commission Meeting, Commission reviewed and discussed the ordinance. The Commission approved the ordinance with a reduction from 25% to 10% of total sales that can be derived from the sale of Schedule II controlled substances. In addition, staff also added a 30 day period clause during which the Schedule II controlled substances sales can be derived. RECOMMENDATION Recommend approval of Ordinance No. 12 -10 on second reading. hnp: / /miweb001/ Agendas /Bluesheet.aspx ?ItemlD= 3534 &MeetingID =265 8/30/2010 Page 1 of 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Commissioners FROM: DATE: July 23, 2010 SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM - MEETING OF AUGUST 3, 2010 ORDINANCE NO. 12-10 ITEM BEFORE COMMISSION Item before commission is for second reading to consider a City - initiated amendment to the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that will revise the definition of Pharmacy. BACKGROUND At the July 20, 2010 City Commission Meeting, Commission postponed the ordinance. The Commission approved the ordinance with a reduction from 25% to 10% of total sales that can be derived from the sale of Schedule II controlled substances. In addition, staff also added a 30 day period clause during which the Schedule II controlled substances sales can be derived. RECOMMENDATION Recommend approval of Ordinance No. 12 -10 on second reading. http:// miweb001 /MuniAgenda/Preview.aspx ?ltemlD =3541 &MeetinglD =266 7/26/2010 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Commissioners FROM: David T. Harden, City Manager DATE: July 16, 2010 SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM 10.A. - REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 20, 2010 ORDINANCE NO. 12 -10 ITEM BEFORE COMMISSION Item before commission is for second reading to consider a City- initiated amendment to the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that will revise the definition of Pharmacy. of-ITS] , • At the July 6, 2010 City Commission Meeting, Commission reviewed and discussed the ordinance. The Commission approved the ordinance with a reduction from 25% to 10% of total sales that can be derived from the sale of Schedule II controlled substances. In addition, staff also added a 30 day period clause during which the Schedule II controlled substances sales can be derived. RECOMMENDATION Recommend approval of Ordinance No. 12 -10 on second reading. http: / /miweb001 /Counci ]AgendalBluesheet.aspx ?ItemID= 3534 &MeetingID = 265[7/23/2010 12:11:19 PM] ORDINANCE NO. 12 -10 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH FLORIDA, AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, BY AMENDING APPENDIX "A ", "DEFINITIONS ", TO ENACT A REVISED DEFINITION FOR 'TIIARMACY ", PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE, A GENERAL REPEALER CLAUSE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach has the authority to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach has the authority to make regulations pertaining to land use and development within the City of Delray Beach, and WHEREAS, pursuant to LDR Section 1.1.6, the Planning and Zoning Board reviewed the proposed text amendment at a public hearing held on June 21, 2010 and voted 6 to 0 to recommend that the changes be approved; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Florida Statute 163.3174(4)(c), the Planning and Zoning Board, sitting as the Local Planning Agency, has determined that the change is consistent with and furthers the goals, objectives and policies of the Comprehensive Plan; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach adopts the findings in the Planning and Zoning Staff Report, and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach finds the ordinance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the recitations set forth above are incorporated herein Section 2. That Appendix "A ", "Definitions ", of the Land Development Regulations of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, is hereby amended as follows: PHARMACY Shall mean a retail establishment primarily offering goods for retail sale and on-site dispensing of prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs or both A retail pharmacy may also offer accessory services such as photo processing, eyeglass care, etc. No more than 10% of the total sales within a thirty (30Lyperiod can be derived from the sale of Schedule II controlled substances as listed in Florida Statute 893.03. All pharmacies shall be staffed by a state licensed pharmacist. Section 3. That should any section or provision of this ordinance or any portion thereof, any paragraph, sentence, or word be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof as a whole or part thereof other than the part declared to be invalid Section 4. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith shall be, and the same are hereby repealed Section 5. That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage on second and final reading. PASSED AND ADOPTED in regular session on second and final reading on this day of 2010. ATTEST: City Clerk First Reading Second Reading MAYOR 2 ORD. NO. 12-10 l J MICHAEL WEINER & ASSOCIATES, P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW 10 S. E, 1" Avenue, Suite C Delray Beach, Florida 33444 Telephone: (561) 265 -2666 Telecopier: (561) 272 -6831 E -mail: jmankoff @zonelaw.com MICHAEL S. WEINER JASON S. MANKOFF KERRY D, SAFIER July 19, 2010 Mayor Woodie McDuffie City of Delray Beach 100 NW 1" Avenue, Ste. C Delray Beach, Florida 33444 Re: Proposed Ordinance No. 12 -10 Our File No.: IRAD002 Dear Mayor McDuffie: LAURIE A. THOMPSON, OF COUNSEL Via Hand Delivery R EMED JUL 19 200 CITY CEO Enclosed please find a binder concerning Ira's Discount Pharmacy located at 4900 Linton Blvd, Delray Beach, Florida. Proposed Ordinance No. 12 -10 could severely harm, if not put Ira's Discount Pharmacy out of business. Ira's Discount Pharmacy is a true asset to the citizens of Delray Beach and provides a service that cannot be offered by a chain pharmacy. We respectfully request that your review these materials in conjunction with the proposed ordinance and vote against its passage. Very truly yours, Jason S. Mankoff JSM:ek enclosure cc: Mr. Paul Dorling, Director of Planning and Zoning (w /enclosure) Ms. Chevelle Nubin, City Clerk (w /enclosure) Brian Shutt, Esquire, City Attorney (w /enclosure) 0:URAD002l1-etter to Mayor McDuffie re Pharmacy Binder.July 19 2010.doc ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. I I 'd' S u ' ' O 'n M 'd' S L ' O 'n N 1 ' u Lj (10 m •4-, m L 1 0 a) p 00 E O a 4-- J ' o 'd' S fixw:pa ... t ul J u m E CL O u D c� 0 43 Q u J .�^ t=om (L) 'n N 1 • N Lj (10 •4-, M 0 a) p E fixw:pa ... t ul J u m E CL O u D c� 0 43 Q u J .�^ L (L) 'n N • N Lj (10 •4-, M 0 a) p E a 4-- m b0 O U L m In r- > O V) C O N C O 44 +� U Q (10 Ln x E E u -O to L a� co a� ° o > O aj 7- u a� 4- _ u > v T 4J >- Q) -Q V1 CU N L u N E iA o O a� _ t0 _Ln >- u O 4-j E ° i-+ Q1 u > o Q1 Ln Q L O 4-j Q o t� v 4 L N u +, u v C] m .v 0- +' m U L U O (A f�t7 Q1 fD C v L N Q) O v O v n. v E L n.. u L Q) p .v /'^� L Vl o ° �o Q) C 4J Q) }. U f v� ,_ u 'u i O CU L- L M W Q v QJ OD tw C tLi - i m p L v `� -C 0 _ m. o v `n C v u > in — -0 O cu QJ M — -O o u -p %A (U U � — v 4- ° a c� Q v i- -o x E U N m v � O ? "3 (v u o s ° o o =3 C *' w o ° U Q1 M O a ' O W Q - , +=' M (1) O U W "4-' v +- — m ? p C L E (L) o a° a �' E UL Q Q c G LU O LL Z O G O LL Z Q O 0 Q Il r ' At Ira's Discount Pharmacy there are always friendly faces and a cheerful atmosphere. i ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. n I I t 0 I fl Q O W H O LL 0 Q O LL J z O Q U 4-J � O .� cn � a V u O (� fa U W O M E V Q O W H O LL 0 Q O LL J z O Q i 0 0 7 I 0 I i I 7 N � N L U v L cn O U ra Ul U d � CU � m O to q� C) 0 N 4- O L m a E > • a- u U L v Q) E L o Q) U E Q Q 0 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. 1 n i t J �-1 Wine Tastings -4 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. 1 Q O W O LL z O Q 75 ry O LL z J Q z O r) Q c Qj Qj 'Qj Qj � a a b a O 1 i- a a t Q, o °, a Qj Cn v Qj +, Qj o Q) Q O - O O 3~ a v a a o a Qj � _ .0 0. Qj Qj a to lu Qj Qj a -c +� c Q, -X3 O o a c o -�� L, .c �., Q- Qj + . tea+ Qj � ° a 3 a c a ►� c Qj c a ILI Qj '.0 o W v �" q .'� a v Q.) -c a a 4 + Qj a ° a °Q) ' 0 a a a, Qj u O Qj u Z3 a - Qj u -ra a Y r 3 cn a QQ) 3 a c° C3 Qj a ,n 4_ L„ Qj b -C3 .Ln u u O c c .� O b 'a C — c a -TZ3 C3 ' > b v a c a c o N 'v vtn o o o v -o cn O -c >~ �. �, Qj a, a °' �, Q a u 3 3 v b� u �, - kn a o = ];Q c �c a,a c a_ X a v c o o_ a'o� E c Qj 0-c kn °io v 'o LJ L� -ca ° c a° .a v) u o CL Qj a a cn a, �, -c CL .° `�-, "a 3 of o � Y a o tn �. 0 UJ Q�j O a 4� O N aJ m Y Qj o a c E 4., O 4 cQ N o "� n C i Qxj fC p° v h Q -`4 Q J C c ►- O © v QJ J 3 o �, m o f 80J ° Qj c :' L per[ u o m acsc v a_°,' v °. manes o -°c a 3� =' 1 -- -0Y �1 Consumer Reports rlin,- .txirie Octolwr 2003 (pnhlished h. the Consumers Union) Time to switch drugstores? If you're among the 47 percent of Americans who get medicine from drugstore giants such as CVS, Eckerd, and ' Rite Aid, here's a prescription: "Try shopping somewhere else. The best place to start looking is one of the 25,000 independent pharmacies that are making a comeback throughout the U.S. Independent stores, which were edging toward extinction a few years ago, won top honors from Consumer Reports readers, besting the big chains by an eye- popping margin. More than 85 percent of customers at independent drugstores were very satisfied or completely satisfied with their experience, compared with 58 percent of chain - drugstore customers. Many supermarket and mass - merchant pharmacies also did a better job than the best -known conventional chains at providing caring, courteous, knowledgeable, and timely service. And in a nationwide price study we conducted, the chains we evaluated charged the highest prices- -even slightly more than the independents. Those findings come from our latest investigation into the best places to shop for prescription medications. More than 32,000 readers told us about more than 40,000 experiences at 31 national and regional drugstore chains (like CVS, Genovese, Osco, Rite Aid, and Walgreens); supermarket pharmacy combos (such as Kroger, Publix, and Safeway); mass - merchant pharmacies (like Costco, Target, and Wal -Mart); and independent pharmacies across Ithe nation. For most consumers, insurance covers at least some of the cost of prescription drugs, so our Ratings emphasize I service factors that affect everyone. For consumers who have to pay more than a small percentage of their prescription -drug costs, including more than a third of our readers, our price study indicated where to save money. (See Where to shop, how to save.) Among the other highlights of our research: • Some of the drugstore chains and supermarkets that readers favored are family owned or businesses in which workers have a stake. Medicine Shoppe, the top "chain," is actually a collection of about 1,000 individually owned and operated stores with a common parent company. Among supermarkets, high -rated Wegmans (in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) is family owned; and at high -rated Publix (in the South), most workers are stockholders. • Forty percent of readers said that at least once during the past year, their drugstore was out of the medicine they needed. • Our market basket of a month's worth of five widely prescribed medications cost $377 to $555, depending on where we shopped. For a family needing all five drugs, that difference would exceed $2,000 a year. SORTING OUT THE SNORES Most people start by searching for a store that accepts their insurance plan. Fortunately, that isn't the hassle it used to be, especially since independents arc accepting more plans these days. Insurers once considered the disparate stores too much trouble to work with, but they realized that keeping independents out of their networks alienated customers and didn't cut costs as much as they'd hoped. Also, 33 states have adopted "any willing provider" laws, which require insurance companies to take into their networks any pharmacy that's willing to accept the insurer's reimbursement rate. As a result, you have a greater choice of where and how to shop. The Ibasic choices: I ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. Independents: Service is all. Prescription drugs are the independents' lifeblood, accounting for 88 percent of sales. That means independents can be a good source of hard -to -find medications. (The chains, where drugs account for 64 percent of sales, tend to focus on the 200 most - prescribed drugs.) That focus on prescriptions can mean more personal attention. Readers said that pharmacists at independent stores were accessible, approachable, and easy to talk to, and that they were especially knowledgeable about ' medications, both prescription and nonprescription. The independents (and some chains) offer extras such as disease - management education, in -store health t screenings for cholesterol, services such as compounding (customizing medications for patients with special needs), and home delivery. ' Many independents are affiliated with programs such as Good Neighbor or Value - Rite, whose names you'll see in the stores. These "banner" programs, offered by wholesale product suppliers, help independents with marketing and with the sale of private -label products, improving purchasing power and name recognition much the way ' ServiStar and True Value help small hardware stores compete with Home Depot and Lowe's. About half of the nation's independents have Web sites, where you can generally order medicine and find some ' health information but not much more. Chains: Convenient but crowded. With about 20,000 stores nationwide, mega - drugstores are in nearly everyone's backyard. Many are open around the clock, have a drive - through pharmacy for faster pickup, and let ' you order online or by punching a few numbers on a telephone. You can even set up your Web account to have renewals automatically processed and readied for pickup or mailing. The biggest chains let you check prices online. Another advantage: The chains accept payment from lots of health plans (managed care pays for 80 percent of all conventional-chain prescriptions). Now for the drawbacks. The chains' locations in populous areas and their acceptance of a plethora of plans has ' made them, in effect, too popular, and service is suffering. Except for Medicine Shoppe, chains typically made readers wait longer, were slower to fill orders, and provided less personal attention than other types of drugstores. ' Like other drugstores, the chains have experienced shrinking reimbursement from insurers. They've helped maintain profits by selling everything from milk to Halloween costumes. That makes one -stop shopping possible (if your list isn't too specific), but it also can create bottlenccks at the checkout. ' Supermarkets: One stop does it. There are fewer than 9,000 supermarkets that include a pharmacy, but the number is rising. One -stop shopping is the attraction. Many supermarkets put the phannacy near the entrance for easy access and to attract store traffic. For those very reasons, however, you may not have as much privacy to ' consult with the druggist as you would elsewhere. ' Supermarkets have online pharmacy sites, usually as a link from the home page, but they're often less comprehensive than those of big drugstore chains. ' Mass merchants: Low price is key. Like supermarkets, these stores sell a wide variety of goods. But their main draw is low prices. One in five readers who bought medication from a mass mcrehant had no prescription -drug coverage. in our price study, only Web sites sold medications as cheaply. In our survey, ShopKo and Target were among the high -rated mass merchants; Wal -Mart was worse than most others. ' All of the mass merchants in our survey have Web sites for ordering prescriptions, but only the Costco site lets you check drug prices. Online: Low prices, no face time. Virtual pharmacies come in two basic flavors. There are adjuncts to brick- ' ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. ' and -mortar stores, where you can order online and receive your prescription by mail or pick it up. Then there are sites such as www.drub >store.cone and www.aarppharmacy.com , which have no store and simply mail the medicine to you. With both types of site, you can enter the name and quantity of the drug online; a pharmacist will confirm the prescription with your doctor. (Often, you can fax or mail a paper prescription instead and wait for it to be approved, but that can add days to the process.) ' Anytime you're not picking up from a pharmacist, you lose a chance for personal contact, a consideration if you're using a medication for the first time or are juggling medications. To compensate, the stand -alone Web sites - -and those operated by the drug chains and some mass merchants.- -make it easy to e-mail questions to ' pharmacists 24/7, research medical topics, search online for potentially dangerous drug interactions, receive e- mail .refill reminders, keep track of your medications, and note any drug allergies. Drugstore.com will also alert you if the branded drug you're taking becomes available in generic form. ' It can take as little as a couple of hours for your medicine to be ready if you order from a chain and are willing to retrieve it, or as long as three to five business days if you ask for it to be mailed standard shipping. That's free or nearly so. You can pay about $15 to have medicine overnighted (refrigerated medicines must be sent that way). ' Web sites can't ship every controlled substance. ' When you use a Web site, you can avoid waiting in line, of course, and you'll tend to pay lower prices, even when shipping costs are included. No computer? No problem. Sites have toll -free numbers. Four percent of our readers had bought medications online, most often from drug chains, and three- quarters of ' those said the transaction went smoothly: Their order was processed quickly enough for their needs, and e- mailed questions were answered promptly. (For details on ordering via the Web, see The online option ) ' GETTING BETTER SERVICE Some stores did far better than others in service, speed, and information provided by the druggist. The most frequent complaints: Drugs were out of stock, readers had to wait a long time for service at the pharmacy counter, ' and prescriptions weren't ready. Drugstore chains and supermarkets were most likely to be out of -a requested drug. When a drug was out of stock, t independents were able to obtain it within one day 80 percent of the time, vs. about 55 to 60 percent for the other types of stores. Only 9 percent of the time did independent customers have to wait at least three days for an out - of -stock drug or find it elsewhere, vs. at least 18 percent of the time for other types of stores. ' Drugs were out of stock more often this time than when we published our last drugstore survey, in 1999. The steepest jump took place at Albertsons, Giant, and Longs Drugs, whose out -of- stocks increased by more than 15 percentage points. That's probably the case in part because the number of prescriptions being written is growing ' faster than the shelf space. ' Overall, 27 percent of readers complained about long waits. It's no wonder. Pharmacists fill nearly 4 billion prescriptions a year, an average of almost 200 per day for each pharmacist, and spend one - fourth of their time on administrative work such as calling doctors and dealing with insurance companies. Moreover, there's a shortage of druggists- -there are approximately 5,500 job openings around the U.S. At CVS, Genovese, Longs Drugs; and Sav -On, about 40 percent of readers complained of long waits for service. lines were short at Medicine Shoppe (only 6 percent of readers complained) and at the independents (8 percent). ' Twenty percent of readers overall said that their prescription wasn't ready when promised. Among the worst offenders: CVS, Genovese; and Rite Aid, where prescriptions weren't ready nearly one -third of the time. Better- prepared stores included Medicine Shoppe, Publix, ShopKo, Winn - Dixie, and the independents. Other complaints focused on how pharmacists interact with customers. Worst offenders: the drugstore chains, G ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. r where 10 percent of readers said they did not receive enough personal attention from their pharmacist. Best: You guessed it - -the independents —where only 2 percent of readers found fault. Service may improve in all stores, eventually, In many states, regulators are giving technicians more authority to assist druggists. Technology is also lending a hand in the form of robotic machines that dispense medications. They do everything but cap the bottle (which goes uncapped to the pharmacist for a final inspection). Although only a small fraction of doctors are now writing e- prescriptions, they are the wave of the future. Doctors use a handheld device to transmit your prescription to the drugstore. The procedure avoids one of druggists' biggest problems and a contributor to the rising incidence of drug errors: deciphering doctors' handwriting. While waiting for the future, you might improve the odds of getting good service now by patronizing an independent pharmacy. But whatever drugstore you use, you're apt to get better service by following some simple advice: Avoid waiting. Order drugs online or by phone, then pick them up (or, if you're not in a rush, have them mailed). If you plan to pick up drugs, check from home whether the doctor and druggist have connected and the prescription is ready. Establish a good relationship. Make sure you can step aside and talk privately with the pharmacist and that you can reach him or her by phone. The pharmacist should volunteer details about the drug and be able to answer questions about nonprescription products, too. With online pharmacies, make sure you receive prompt, thorough answers to questions submitted by e-mail. Get good advice. Check that the pharmacy keeps and updates your medication records, which should reduce the risk of a drug conflict or adverse reaction. Don't walk away from the counter without knowing the following: what to do if you miss a dose, how many refills are permitted; how to store the drug and when it expires; what ' side effects to expect, along with which to ignore and which to contact your doctor about; and foods, drugs, supplements, or situations to avoid while taking the medication. Ratings Pharmacies To most people, whose drug bills are covered by insurance, factors such as service, speed, and thorough ' information matter most. Stores that did especially well at pleasing readers in those areas include independent pharmacies; Medicine Shoppe, a "chain" of individually owned stores; the mass merchants ShopKo and Target; and the regional supermarkets Publix, Wegmans, and Winn- Dixie. If price is most important to you, buy ' medicine at a mass merchant or online. If convenience is, key, try a mass merchant or supermarket (for one -stop shopping) or a Web site (you needn't leave home if you order online and are willing to have your medication shipped). I IGuide to the Survey The Ratings are based on more than 32,000 responses to our 2002 Annual Questionnaire, reflecting more than 40,000 experiences buying prescription drugs at brick - and - mortar independent, chain, supermarket, and mass - merchandise -store pharmacies in the U.S. between April 200.1 and April 2002. At least 166 responses were needed for inclusion in the Ratings (we received as many as 6,500 responses for big chains such as Walgreens). Differences in Reader score of less than 5 points are not meaningful. The results reflect our readers' experiences, not necessarily those of the population at large. t ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. r i i i i i i i i i r Q O W 0 LL 0 O LL z Q `O 1 � � S ;-+ CL L t Q r_ �jp O C CL a) m C: -a o o% I-- •� L L Ln c L L ru aA 4--J V CU of as +� O U Cl- -C _ ^ Q LA •V > •U O {J - E - U m -0 •> V/�J 0- &- O C1 T i ( y' w I A T E 4-J O V �> Zi �` •N U f0 ±� a) O V a) Q a) C '+- W m V E Q) -a o � a. •� +� o •n — E 4- a a� � v -a E Q 0- > O v V X N "C z (U v U -c � E _ m o a Q E o o >; > N • N O z V O O � ' = 2 O N U Q O ai > a) E v N 4- c ` - c� O a) o�� a� CtA M V) O 4 ,v 4-0 Cr - L Q +, N 0 C M E >- a) aJ -C Q C L O a) -C , •> � _ o M � +, L- ° O O -C � v 0 X ) v Q O W 0 LL 0 O LL z Q `O 1 MICHAEL WEINER & ASSOCIATES, P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW 10 S. E. 1St Avenue, Suite C Delray Beach, Florida 33444 Telephone: (561) 265 -2666 Telecopier: (561) 272 -6831 E -mail. jmankoff @zonelaw.com MICHAEL S. WEINER JASON S. MANKOFF KERRY D. SAFIER July 19, 2010 Mayor Woodie McDuffie City of Delray Beach 100 NW 1St Avenue, Ste. C Delray Beach, Florida 33444 Re: Proposed Ordinance No. 12 -10 Our File No.: IRAD002 Dear Mayor McDuffie: LAURIE A. THOMPSON, OF COUNSEL Via Hand Delivery iUL 19 2010 CITY CLERK Enclosed please find a binder concerning Ira's Discount Pharmacy located at 4900 Linton Blvd. Delray Beach, Florida. Proposed Ordinance No. 12 -10 could severely harm, if not put Ira's Discount Pharmacy out of business. Ira's Discount Pharmacy is a true asset to the citizens of Delray Beach and provides a service that cannot be offered by a chain pharmacy. We respectfully request that your review these materials in conjunction with the proposed ordinance and vote against its passage, Very truly yours, Jason S. Mankoff JSM:ek enclosure cc: Mr. Paul Dorling, Director of Planning and Zoning (w /enclosure) Ms. Chevelle Nubin, City Clerk (w /enclosure) Brian Shutt, Esquire, City Attorney (w /enclosure) Q11RAD0021Letter to Mayor MCDufe re Pharmacy Binder.July 19 2010.doc ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. Q o_ 0 LL O Q O LL Z Q 0 Q I +-j c +� o o ' E �' a E Ln o m - vi tw c ° > o Q. c o a 4-' u ' o 4--J c m cu c Q c ° 4-o o ' u_ W u c a ��, w 7D x -D V u SD w aJ M tU C) a� v }, � u � 1 E� v V)� �o 4-J o �' '� m • ro �' >` _ S aj V 4 o i o .". °lu' o 0 7 O U u_ ° u 0 ° m N Qi p a f > o ^ W L- 0- u � ' L- J �. -D C D v1 p --' m c — 0 OD CL a� o �►� � u N v W }, ._ u Q) _ � p o E � Q. E L- vi U- i U. o 1� ev+ 4- o u _ 4-J } LO �U 4- o c 4- cn QJ v E N m° L *"' E -0 x � © o) � L- C � +� " ° 4-j o � a) a >- O +� M M r[; o D u to N c i-+ C ,, tJJ � o °. C:t� M ■� E 0 0 -� N u o o a d c OJ ' �� u 0 Q) to O � 0 E u. O.. Q o_ 0 LL O Q O LL Z Q 0 Q w. Nays ire. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. a rf i s 4—J Ln �n Q /�� } a z O O - ti � o Q I, i x:. a i I i I I I E U cn 0 E - IV) U CL O ro u L- .tn (a) r) V) 1 0 m m > Z u u U I ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. i I n n l H Wine Tastings I ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. 1 I L i C; LU F-- af 0 LL z 0 0 LL z z 0 F- 0 0 C lu u m o u 'j ai o .2- W UOJ XM U4-J u 4-J 0 -j n LL 4-1 M 4-J V) o 0 U — < 4-J o u txo • • 0 0 c 0 0 a) C- m u m E 0- cu Ln o -C 0 u Ln -0 o 0 LL x V) .2 M V) _v M X C; LU F-- af 0 LL z 0 0 LL z z 0 F- 0 0 Q 0 W O LL O Q 0 Z Z O Q v a Vn 4 .� C v 4 b O � `- .� n O a 4-1 L.. Z b � b Qj •� v ' o 1 a � o n a v 4� 0 a o a4, a ..b 1 a v b Q Q O a o v v a o v C — a, a u S fi S °` Q � V) b u LL�3 Z3 c +� b •� a v p `o s} � u ° u Q u, ca a `' a v ;, q O 5 `a v - a O 4 a n, (D D D n � Qj a W C a n v � v a o Qj A 4 + a �^ v O b0 � v � b �-• a v Q7 -j Qj 4.4 v ' kn c o w Qj b •� tn u u C .� kn u p 3 j O E a,. a w a`, c Z3 u © i v a aki m `b o o Ii I. C4 m Q 0 W O LL O Q 0 Z Z O Q v a Vn 4 .� 4 b O `- n o a b Z b � b Qj •� v v o a � 0 a o a4, ..b 1 a v b Q Q O o � o a o v -c a, o fi S V) c +� b •� v s} � w a v ;, q O 5 v - a O 4 , n, (D D D � Qj C v � v a o 0, A 4 + a v b0 � � � b �-• a v Q7 -j Q 0 W O LL O Q 0 Z Z O Q Consumer Reports magazine October 2003 (publishe(I by the ConstlmCrs (ittioli) Time to switch drugstores? If you're among the 47 percent of Americans who get medicine from drugstore giants such as CVS, Eckerd, and Rite Aid, here's a prescription: Try shopping somewhere else. The best place to start looking is one of the 25,000 independent pharmacies that are making a comeback throughout the U.S. I ndependent stores, which were edging toward extinction a few years ago, won top honors from Consumer Reports readers, besting the big chains by an eye - popping margin. More than 85 percent of customers at independent drugstores were very satisfied or completely satisfied with their experience, compared with 58 percent of chain- drugstore customers. Many supermarket and mass - merchant pharmacies also did a better job than the best - known conventional chains at providing caring, courteous, knowledgeable, and timely service. And in a nationwide price study we conducted, the chains we evaluated charged the highest prices- -even slightly more than the independents. Those findings come from our latest investigation into the best places to shop for prescription medications. More ' than 32,000 readers told us about more than 40,000 experiences at 31 national and regional drugstore chains (like CVS, Genovese, Osco, Rite Aid, and Walgreens); supermarkapharmacy combos (such as Kroger, Publix, and Safeway); mass - merchant pharmacies (like Costco, Target, and Wal- Mart); and independent pharmacies across the nation. For most consumers, insurance covers at least some of the cost of prescription drugs, so our Ratings emphasize service factors that affect everyone. For consumers who have to pay more than a small percentage of their prescription -drug costs, including more than a third of our readers, our price study indicated where to save money. (See Where to shop, how to save.) Among the other highlights of our research: 7 • Some of the drugstore chains and supermarkets that readers favored are family owned or businesses in which workers have a stake. Medicine Shoppe, the top "chain," is actually a collection of about 1,000 individually owned and operated stores with a common parent company. Among supermarkets, high -rated Wegmans (in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) is family owned; and at high -rated Publix (in the South), most workers are stockholders. • Forty percent of readers said that at least once during the past year, their drugstore was out of the medicine they needed. • Our market basket of a month's worth of five widely prescribed medications cost $377 to $555, depending on where we shopped. For a family needing all five drugs, that difference would exceed $2,000 a year. SORTING OUT THE STORES Most people start by searching for a store that accepts their insurance plan. Fortunately, that isn't the hassle it used to be, especially since independents are accepting more plans these days. Insurers once considered the disparate stores too much trouble to work with, but they realized that keeping independents out of their networks alienated customers and didn't cut costs as much as they'd hoped. Also, 33 states have adopted "any willing provider" laws, which require insurance companies to take into their networks any pharmacy that's willing to accept the insurer's reimbursement rate. As a result, you have a greater choice of where and how to shop. The basic choices: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. F, Independents: Service is all. Prescription drugs are the independents' lifeblood, accounting for 88 percent of sales. That means independents can be a good source of hard-to-find medications. (The chains, where drugs account for 64 percent of sales, tend to focus on the 200 most - prescribed drugs.) That focus on prescriptions can mean more personal attention. Readers said that pharmacists at independent stores were accessible, approachable, and easy to talk to, and that they were especially knowledgeable about medications, both prescription and nonprescription. The independents (and some chains) offer extras such as disease - management education, in -store health screenings for cholesterol, services such as compounding (customizing medications for patients with special needs), and home delivery. Many independents are affiliated with programs such as Good Neighbor or Value -Rite, whose names you'll see in the stores. These "banner" programs, offered by wholesale product suppliers, help independents with marketing and with the sale of private -label products, improving purchasing power and name recognition much the way ServiStar and True Value help small hardware stores compete with Horne Depot and Lowe's. About half of the nation's independents have Web sites, where ou can generally order medicine and find sonic Y g Y ' health information but not much more. Chains. Convenient but crowded. With about 20,000 stores nationwide, mega - drugstores are in nearly everyone's backyard. Many are open around the clock, have a drive- through pharmacy for faster pickup, and let ' you order online or by punching a few numbers on a telephone. You can even set up your Web account to have renewals automatically processed and readied for pickup or mailing. The biggest chains let you check prices online. Another advantage: The chains accept payment from lots of health plans (managed care pays for 80 percent of all conventional -chain prescriptions). Now for the drawbacks. The chains' locations in populous areas and their acceptance of a plethora of plans has t made them, in effect, too popular, and service is suffering. Except for Medicine Shoppe, chains typically made readers wait longer, were slower to fill orders, and provided less personal attention than other types of drugstores. ' Like other drugstores, the chains have experienced shrinking reimbursement from insurers. They've helped maintain profits by selling everything from milk to Halloween costumes. That makes one -stop shopping possible (if your list isn't too specific), but it also can create bottlenecks at the checkout. Supermarkets: One stop does it. There are fewer than 9,000 supermarkets that include a pharmacy, but the number is rising. One -stop shopping is the attraction. Many supermarkets put the pharmacy near the entrance for easy access and to attract store traffic. For those very reasons, however, you may not have as much privacy to consult with the druggist as you would elsewhere. Supermarkets have online pharmacy sites, usually as a link from the home page, but they're oven less comprehensive than those of big drugstore chains. Mass merchants: Low price is key. Like supermarkets, these stores sell a wide variety of goods. But their main draw is low prices. One in five readers who bought medication from a mass merchant had no prescription -drug coverage, In our price study, only Wcb.sites sold medications as cheaply. In our survey, ShopKo and Target were among the high -rated mass merchants; Wal-Mart was worse than most others. ■ All of the mass merchants in our survey have Web sites for ordering prescriptions, but only the Costco site lets you check drug prices. Online: Low prices, no face time. Virtual pharmacies come in two basic flavors. There are adjuncts to brick- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. it 1 and -mortar stores, where you can order online and receive your prescription by mail or pick it up. Then there are sites such as Hny►u.d1 xigsrore.cont and ylww..crvhcrrmacy,com , which have no store and simply mail the medicine to you. With both types of site, you can enter the name and quantity of the drug online; a pharmacist will confirm the prescription with your doctor. (Often, you can fax or mail a paper prescription instead and wait for it to be approved, but that can add days to the process.) 1 Anytime you're not picking up from a pharmacist, you lose a chance for personal contact, a consideration if you're using a medication for the first time or are juggling medications. To compensate, the stand -atone Web sites- -and those operated by the drug chains and some mass merchants- -make it easy to e-mail questions to ' pharmacists 2417, research medical topics, search online for potentially dangerous drug interactions, receive e- mail refill reminders, keep track of your medications, and note any drug allergies. Drugstore.com will also alert you if the branded drug you're taking becomes available in generic form. 14 can take as little as a couple of hours for your medicine to be ready if you order from a chain and are willing to retrieve it, or as long as three to five business days if you ask for it to be mailed standard shipping. That's free or nearly so. You can pay about $15 to have medicine ovemighted (refrigerated medicines must be sent that way). ' Web sites can't ship every controlled substance. When you use a Web site, you can avoid waiting in line, of course, and you'll tend to pay lower prices, even when shipping costs are included. No computer? No problem, Sites have toll -free numbers. Four percent of our readers had bought medications online, most often from drug chains, and three - quarters of those said the transaction went smoothly: Their order was processed quickly enough for their needs, and e- mailed questions were answered promptly. (For details on ordering via the Web, see The online option.) GI TTlNG BETTER SERVICE Some stores did far better than others in service, speed, and information provided by the druggist. The most frequent complaints: Drugs were out of stock, readers had to wait a long time for service at the pharmacy counter, ' and prescriptions weren't ready. Drugstore chains and.supermarkets were most likely to be out of a requested drug. When a drug was out of stock, independents were able to obtain it within one day 80 percent of the time, vs. about 55 to 60 percent for the other types of stores, Only 9 percent of the time did independent customers have to wait at least three days for an out- of -stock drug or find it elsewhere, vs. at least 18 percent of the time for other types of stores. Drugs were out of stock more often this time than when we published our last drugstore survey, in 1999. The steepest jump took place at Albertsons, Giant, and Longs Drugs, whose out -of- stocks increased by more than 15 percentage points. That's probably the case in part because the number of prescriptions being written is growing ' faster than the shelf space. Overall, 27 percent of readers complained about long waits. It's no wonder. Pharmacists fill nearly 4 billion prescriptions a year, an average of almost 200 per day for each pharmacist, and spend one -fourth of their time on administrative work such as calling doctors and dealing with insurance companies. Moreover, there's a shortage of druggists- -there are approximately 5,500 job openings around the U.S. At CVS, Genovese, Longs Drugs, and ' Sav -On, about 40 percent of readers complained of long waits for service. Lines were short at Medicine Shoppe (only 6 percent of readers complained) and at the independents (8 percent). ' Twenty percent of readers overall said that their prescription wasn't ready when promised. Among the worst offenders: CVS, Genovese, and Rite Aid, where prescriptions weren't ready nearly one -third of the time. Better - prepared stores included Medicine Shoppe, Publix, ShopKo, Winn - Dixie, and the independents. rOther complaints focused on how pharmacists interact with customers. Worst offenders: the drugstore chains, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. r where 10 percent of readers said they did not receive enough personal attention from their pharmacist. Hest: You guessed it - -the independents - -where only 2 percent of readers found fault. Service may improve in all stores, eventually. In many states, regulators are giving technicians more authority to assist druggists. Technology is also lending a hand in the form of robotic machines that dispense medications. They do everything but cap the bottle (which goes uncapped to the pharmacist for a final inspection). Although only a small fraction of doctors are now writing e- prescriptions, they are the wave of the future. Doctors use a handheld device to transmit your prescription to the drugstore. The procedure avoids one of druggists' biggest problems and a contributor to the rising incidence of drug errors: deciphering doctors' handwriting. While waiting for the future, you might improve the odds of getting good service now by patronizing an independent pharmacy. But whatever drugstore you use, you're apt to get better service by following some simple advice: Avoid waiting. Order drugs online or by phone, then pick them up (or, if you're not in a rush, have them mailed). If you plan to pick up drugs, check from home whether the doctor and druggist have connected and the prescription is ready. Establish a good relationship. Make sure you can step aside and talk privately with the pharmacist and that you can reach him or her by phone.. The pharmacist should volunteer details about the drug and be able to answer r questions about nonprescription products, too. With online pharmacies, make sure you receive prompt, thorough answers to questions submitted by e-mail. Get good advice. Check that the pharmacy keeps and updates your medication records, which should reduce the risk of a drug conflict,or adverse reaction. Don't walk away from the counter without knowing the.following: what to do if you miss a dose; how many refills are permitted; how to store the drug and when it expires; what side effects to expect, along with which to .ignore and which to contact your doctor about; and foods, drugs, supplements, or situations to avoid while taking the medication. Ratings Pharmacies To most people, whose drug bills are covered by insurance, factors such as service, speed, and thorough information matter most, Stores that did especially well at pleasing readers in those areas include independent pharmacies; Medicine Shoppe, a "chain" of individually owned stores; the mass merchants ShopKo and Target; and the regional supermarkets Fublix, Wegmans, and Winn- Dixie. If price is most important to you, buy ' medicine at a mass merchant or online. If convenience is key, try a mass merchant or supermarket (for one -stop shopping) or a Web site (you needn't leave home if you order online and are willing to have your medication shipped). IGuide to the Survey The Ratings are based on more than 32,000 responses to our 2002 Annual Questionnaire, reflecting more than 40,000 experiences buying prescription drugs at brick -and- mortar independent, chain, supermarket, and mass - merchandise -store pharmacies in the U.S, between April 2001 and April 2002. At least 166 responses were needed for inclusion in the Ratings (we received as many as 6,500 responses for big chains such as Walgreens). Differences in Reader score of less than 5 points are not meaningful. The results reflect our readers' experiences, not necessarily those of the population at large. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR ITEM 10.A. F fl j r [1 I I i i 0 V- 0 LL z 0 0 LL z z 0 4-J 0 M E 4-J CL 0 0 4- Q- V) _g_- Ll tLo (1) c- 0 4--J V) V) V) c L 4-J V) 4-1 (u u O -4-J Q) (Tj C- _0 Q) 4-J .> (3) u E 0 LU a) L- U _0 > a) CL V C 0 (U V) 4--J E V) U cu > oa (1) _0 0 c- II 4-J W > (2) -0 E 4- C- > .— as 4-J Q) u x U LA Q) L- D CL cu < -0 v 0- 0 vi > 0 U 0 4— 14 -- > 0 Z U V) Q) > 0 (10 Qj m 0 4-- 4- U 0 -C +-A 0 4--j Q) E E c- - >- u c 0 0 V) 0 +- 4- 4--J Ln 'u > 0- E 0 E CU u 0 C_ 4- 4- E i, (U (U U 0 -0 0 0 U 4-J -C w 0 X v C c 0 V- 0 LL z 0 0 LL z z 0 ORDINANCE NO. 12 -10: Consider a city initiated amendment to Appendix "A ", "Definitions" of the Land Development Regulations (LDR) to revise the definition of "Pharmacy. Per Mark McDonnell this item was TABLED at the P & Z meeting on May 17, 2010. This item will not come back until July 6, 2010