PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVES MARIJUANA GUIDELINES

After a two-hour discussion of a draft ordinance establishing
regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries in city limits, the
Sonoma Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend that the Sonoma City
Council adopt the ordinance.

But there was not a lot of clarity on a number of points, left for the
council to resolve, if it decides to move forward with the ordinance.
Commission chair Michael George said, "It's a really complex issue.
Part of me says that cannabis is not legal because nobody can patent
it. In summarizing what I've learned, we need to form an opinion to
recommend to council but we're shooting in the dark here. Is the area
the city or the valley? What is the patient population? How will the
operator answer questions?"

Sonoma Planning Director David Goodison explained many of the issues
relating to dispensaries and reminded commissioners that this is the
third time they had discussed the issue. The draft ordinance
considered by the commission stipulated that a dispensary must be at
least 1,000 feet from schools and 100 feet from parks and youth
facilities. Only one permit would be issued for the first year; no
limit was in the ordinance for the number of dispensaries that might
be allowed after that.

Membership in the non-profit cooperative running the dispensary would
be limited to 2,000 persons, and patient visits in any month would be
limited to 1,000. No delivery service would be allowed; those are
illegal, according to Goodison, except for licensed caregivers.

The source of the marijuana would be limited to what the members
themselves can grow. Other dispensaries in Santa Rosa reportedly do
not have this limitation, and Goodison said that the ordinance would
prohibit pot from being grown within city limits.

Ancillary items would be allowed (such as books, pipes and
vaporizers), as would cannabis foods and liquids. Patients and
employees would not be allowed to consume marijuana within 1,000 feet
of the dispensary.

Commission concerns included the criteria for the screening of the
applicants who would run the dispensary as well as location and
patient issues. Commissioner Mark Heneveld commented, "We know that
people under 18 cannot go to the dispensary. The 2,000 number is
probably high - 2,000 seems high. Do we know how many prescriptions we
have in the valley? Where will the foods and liquids be produced? How
will the dosage be regulated?" No one provided answers to these and
similar questions.

When the discussion was opened up to members of the public, two
dispensary operators in Santa Rosa asserted that site problems are
minimal. John Sugg explained, "Crime actually decreases because of
security measures and monitoring. We've had one drunk and rowdy
patient but our break-in rate is smaller than other
businesses."

Donna Franken, the other Santa Rosa owner, added, "This will attract
people to Sonoma. It's good for revenue generation in the city. I
would suggest not limiting patient visits or numbers of members. Also,
I have had zero police calls in my years of operation."

Other comments included a plea by Nanci Mathison, Director of Student
Services for Sonoma Valley Unified School District, who said, "I am
here to request that the commission maintain the 1,000-foot boundary
from any school site." And Jewel Mathison, the wife of Sonoma Mayor
Ken Brown, requested that the wording in the ordinance be changed from
consumption to smoking for dispensary employees, so that employees
would be allowed to use cannabis oils, foods and liquids while at the
dispensary.

Further discussion by the commission included a strong stance by
commissioner Robert Felder, who said, "I think there is a deeper issue
here that we are not talking about. I would not like to see a center
in the City of Sonoma. It adds a dimension to the city which I just
don't want to see." Felder was the one vote against approving the ordinance.

With two applicants indicating that they intend to apply for the one
permit, the planning commission can expect to see this issue again, in
greater detail, if the city council proceeds to adopt the ordinance.

In other business, the planning commission approved unanimously an
application by Lori and Joseph Solis and Karen Powers for a
self-service yogurt shop at 531 Broadway. The commission also
discussed revising notice requirements for applications involving
telecommunications facilities. The latter came from concerns about the
lack of public notification on the cell phone tower at Sonoma Valley
High School. A teacher from Creekside High School, sited on the same
campus, said, "Many of my colleagues and students were surprised when
the tower went up. I'm philosophically opposed to the idea of having a
commercial tower in the middle of a learning environment but I
understand the economic reality." The commission agreed to
recommendations that the notification requirements be increased.