SANTA ROSA REJECTS POT DISPENSARY BID

The Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal to put a
medicinal marijuana dispensary on the edges of the South Park
neighborhood, siding with police who said the area already is plagued
by gang members, prostitutes and drug traffickers.

"I can't think of a worse location," said Councilman John Sawyer,
part of a 6-1 vote to deny an appeal by San Rafael resident Mina
Sohaei and attorney Scot Candell to open a 500-client dispensary on
the southwest corner of Petaluma Hill Road and Barham Avenue.

Candell said their dispensary and its security measures -- 22 indoor
and outdoor cameras, two security guards, bright outdoor lighting,
bulletproof windows and steel doors -- would make the area safer as
well as ensure the safety of the dispensary's clients and employees.

Candell said he's helped open up 10 similar dispensaries in Northern
California and so far they haven't encountered problems.

"Not even a parking ticket," he said.

But Candell failed to sway the council, whose members endorsed the
concept of medicinal marijuana, but expressed worry that putting a
dispensary in a troubled area the city has spent years trying to turn
around could result in a relapse.

"This is a fragile, evolving neighborhood," said Mayor Susan Gorin.

The appeal was filed after former City Manager Jeff Kolin late last
year denied the application to share a 9,500-square-foot building
occupied by a motorcycle sales and repair shop. Kolin's denial was
based on the recommendation of police Sgt. Eric Litchfield, head of
the city's narcotics team.

Litchfield said Tuesday that crime has decreased in the neighborhood
the past few years because of increased scrutiny by city departments,
but gang members, prostitutes and drug dealers still maintain a
strong presence.

Sgt. Rainier Navarro, part of the city's anti-gang team, said "gangs
remain a serious problem down there" and cited two gang-related
homicides last year.

Litchfield and Navarro said they are available to help the applicants
find a more suitable location.

Litchfield last year had approved the applicant's request to open the
dispensary in the former China Light restaurant on West College
Avenue, but Candell said Tuesday they pulled the request in the face
of neighborhood opposition.

Despite the denial, several council members Tuesday said they support
the idea of medicinal marijuana. Councilwoman Jane Bender said "it
made the last days more peaceful" for people she's known who died
from pancreatic cancer.

The council in 2005 adopted a law that allows two, 500-client
dispensaries within the city. Police said one has been operating for
several years largely unnoticed and without problems in an office
building off Cleveland Avenue.

Under the city's law, the dispensaries must be located in commercial
and industrial areas away from residences and at least 500 feet from
youth-oriented facilities, including schools and parks.

The only support for the South Park dispensary was voiced by
Councilman Marsha Vas Dupre, who said she also supports legalized prostitution.

"It would provide more eyes on the street," she said of the
dispensary proposal, noting the cameras, lights and security guards
would ward off trouble, not attract it.

Vas Dupre said approving the dispensary also would coincide with the
council's goal of "promoting small businesses."

"I'm sad we aren't going to approve this," she said.