SUING THE CITY

Facing Closure, Pot Shop Challenges Ordinance Revisions

In the eyes of the city, there's only 68 feet separating the owners of
Green Well from running a legitimate medical marijuana dispensary and
operating an illegal enterprise. And while the Milpas Street
storefront had previously been on the safe side of a 500-foot buffer
zone mandated by city ordinance between pot shops and schools,
regulation changes adopted five weeks ago, including increasing
the gap to 600 feet, left Green Well high-and-dry as it's only
532 feet away from Santa Barbara Junior High School.

After it became clear that the new mandates, which also include
limiting the number of city dispensaries to three, would put Green
Well owners Nat Reinke and James Lee out of business, the two have
explored possible legal action. On Monday, Reinke and Lee filed a
lawsuit in Santa Barbara Superior Court charging that the city's
decision to grow the buffer was "arbitrary, capricious, and lacking in
rational basis" and that the revised ordinance is therefore illegal as
it applies to Green Well and should be set aside. The lawsuit also
calls for an injunction on the November ballot initiative that would
potentially ban all dispensaries in the city.

Citing a lack of any evidence that shows 600 feet protects kids any
more than 500 feet does, the lawsuit claims "a deliberate intent to
shut down the Green Well" is the only rational explanation for the
change. By all accounts, Reinke and Lee have run a tight ship since
they opened on January 5, avoiding any formal complaints or negative
attention as they've built a patient base.

Drafted by a San Francisco-based lawyer who specializes in land use
cases, the suit argues that because Reinke and Lee sunk $400,000
dollars into their 500 North Milpas Street property to meet Dispensary
Permit requirements, and because they've reportedly acted in good
faith (taking on serious liabilities and expenses in the process), the
two have garnered a "fundamental vested right" to the property. That
right, though, is being blatantly trampled upon by the city, according
to the document, despite Green Well's total compliance, as well as
community outreach efforts and donations to area nonprofits. To
placate school officials' concerns that older teens might find it too
easy to swing by the shop and fill their prescription vials, the
document also notes, Reinke and Lee voluntarily agreed not to sell to
anyone younger than 20 years old.

A purported lack of just compensation is also raised in the filing.
Calling "grossly inadequate" the 180-day period in which newly illegal
pot shops are allowed to continue operating before they have to pack
it in, the suit says Green Well is entitled to a cash judgment should
it go under, which would include out-of-pocket expenses, attorneys
fees, and, most importantly, a yet-to-be-determined
figure of how much the shop stood to make over the course of its
potentially eight-year lease. (Lee and Reinke signed a four-year lease
with the option of a four-year extension that would end in January
2017.)

To Reinke, his and Lee's complaint is rooted more in a sense of
unfairness than in a desire to recoup lost income. "There's just the
unjustness of it all," he said. "We wouldn't be going after the city
if it was just about the paycheck." Reinke has expressed pessimism in
the past about the legitimacy of ordinance drafting processes, saying
decisions are based solely on political considerations and without
citizens' best interests in mind. "What I've learned is that permits
are meaningless," Reinke said in a previous interview. "You can do
everything anyone asks, but when the political winds shift, you'll be
hung out to dry." The original Dispensary Permit, he also noted, did
not include any stipulation that would allow the city to revoke or
impose further conditions.

Reinke pointed to a clause in the suit that alleges Green Well has
been unfairly singled out, explaining that of the three existing
dispensaries operating with city permits, only Pacific Coast
Collective at 331 North Milpas Street would be allowed to keep its
doors open despite the fact that it's seen its fair share of criminal
investigations. Reinke also said he's heard the city intends to give
the go-ahead to two dispensaries, Santa Barbara Patients' Group
and Compassion Center of Santa Barbara County, that have been
operating without permits for years.

Ironically, it was Councilmember Das Williams, one of the
council's most ardent dispensary supporters, who proposed
increasing the buffer requirement that led to Green Well's undoing.
Councilmember Grant House was the only one to vote against the
proposed changes, specifically citing Green Well's predicament. City
attorney Steve Wiley could not be reached for comment as of press time.