SANTA ROSA POT CLUB MAY MOVE TO COTATI

The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary whose lease is expiring
in Santa Rosa wants to open in Cotati, officials said.

On Fire Dona Frank's application is the first since Cotati adopted
marijuana regulations in August, senior planner Marsha Sue Lustig said.

Frank also tried to open in the Sonoma Valley, but her application
was rejected. She didn't respond to telephone inquiries made over several days.

A letter obtained this week may explain her efforts to find a new
location for Organicann, the medical marijuana cooperative she started in 2005.

The letter said her lease will not be renewed and rejected an
apparent offer to purchase the Santa Rosa Avenue property.

The Dec. 18 letter, signed by a lawyer for property owner Ruben Luna,
said Frank didn't disclose her plans for a marijuana club when she
signed a three-year lease. Instead, the letter said, she said she
planned to run a video game business.

"Mr. Luna never gave his permission for drugs to be sold on his
property," said the letter, signed by Santa Rosa attorney Wojciech Makowski.

The letter was sent to county planners and the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration as well as Frank and her lawyer, Lisa Gygax of Forestville.

Gygax couldn't be reached Tuesday for comment.

Luna tried to evict Frank, the letter said. She was allowed to stay
under an out-of-court settlement, according to a former lawyer for Luna.

Makowski's letter said the lease "will not be renewed on any terms"
and "the property will not be sold to Ms. Frank short of a court
order to that effect."

The lease expires in April, Makowski said.

Frank's application in Cotati could go to the City Council in the
next month or so if she is able to resolve parking issues, Lustig said.

"We just started looking into it," Lustig said. "We're not sure yet
if it meets the requirements."

Cotati's regulations allow just one marijuana dispensary in the city.
They limit the number of customers to 1,000 a month and require that
dispensaries be located at least 500 feet from schools, parks or
other youth-oriented facilities, Lustig said.

Dispensaries are barred from residential areas and are restricted to
East Cotati Avenue, Gravenstein Highway or Redwood Drive, she said.

Jim Barrett, a lawyer and former Cotati councilman, said Frank has
offered to buy an office building that he owns.

Barrett said the sale was contingent on license approval. He would
not disclose the price.

Barrett, who in 1974 represented a city official whose marijuana
plants were seized by police and stolen from evidence by two City
Council members, said he supports the use of pot for medical purposes.

"I'd be glad and proud to sell the medical marijuana people this
building," said Barrett, who was elected in 1975. "We're coming in
the front door this time."

Cotati's rules are modeled after those adopted in Santa Rosa,
Sebastopol and the county since state voters in 1996 approved an
initiative allowing people with a doctor's referral to possess and
cultivate marijuana for medical use.

The rules set opening hours and discourage things such as smoking on
premises to prevent related problems.

Outright bans have been enacted in Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park
and Windsor, largely at the urging of police.

A newCotati dispensary would bring the number of co-ops in the county to six.

They include two in Santa Rosa, one in Guerneville, one in Sebastopol
and Frank's in the unincorporated area just south of Santa Rosa's
city limits, said Doc Knapp of Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

At least two delivery services provide marijuana from sources other
than the pot clubs, Knapp said.

"I think more dispensaries are needed," Knapp said.

Last year, the Cotati council signaled its willingness to allow
dispensaries. It passed an ordinance with unanimous support. Frank
was on an advisory panel that helped draft the measure.

However, not everyone supports the idea.

Amy Catelli, a homemaker who also was on the advisory panel, said a
marijuana club will bring loitering and traffic.

With other dispensaries a short drive away, she said Cotati should reconsider.

"Our town can't handle it," Catelli said.