MOUNTAIN VIEW DEVELOPING MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

The city of Mountain View is poised to take a hard line in its
governance of medical marijuana dispensaries.

At a study session tonight, the city council will discuss lifting a
citywide ban on pot clubs and replacing it with rules that are strict
in comparison to other jurisdictions. Coincidentally, the session
comes a day before city officials are scheduled to go to court to try
and shut down Buddy's Cannabis Collective, a dispensary that opened
in April despite the ban.

Deputy City Attorney Nicole Clemens wrote in a report to the council
that most cities limit dispensaries to sites that are at least 500 to
1,000 feet away from "sensitive uses," including schools, day cares
and churches. Clemens is recommending Mountain View err on the
restrictive side, only permitting pot clubs in locations that are at
least 1,000 feet from those uses as well as residences.

"Maps show a 500-foot requirement could allow collectives and
cooperatives in many areas of the city, while the 1,000-foot
requirement would limit collectives and cooperatives to a few
locations," Clemens wrote in her report.

Clemens is also recommending that the regulations be applied to any
dispensary with two or more patients, while some cities allow for
smaller collectives to go unregulated.

Dispensaries would be required to apply annually for a "conditional
use permit," which could require them to submit site plans, a
statement from the landlord consenting to the dispensary, and other
information.

Clemens' report also describes local crimes linked to pot. Mountain
View saw a 396-percent increase in marijuana-related arrests between
2005 and 2009, according to the report. Recent crimes in Mountain
View include a robbery on March 30 when two people were arrested for
stealing a quarter-ounce of marijuana. In February, a St. Francis
High School student allegedly had 23 marijuana lollipops and admitted
selling them to other students. And on May 20, a dispensary in San
Jose was robbed by four people, one of whom had a shotgun. They held
employees and clients at gunpoint and stole marijuana and money,
Clemens wrote in her report.

Brian David, who hopes to open a pot club called the "Shoreline
Wellness Collective," said dispensaries won't lead to more crime.

"The incidents that they listed all can be avoided through proper
security," he said.

Most of the city's proposed regulations are "fine," he said, though
he worried the limits on location are too restrictive, particularly
since dispensaries would have to be 1,000 feet from homes. David has
been considering a location at Middlefield Road and Old Middlefield
Way, but it wouldn't be allowed under the proposed
regulations.

"I think it would work because there's not going to be any signs on
the side saying, 'Hey, marijuana sold here,' anything like that,"
David said. "The only thing that will be on the building is our name,
and if you don't know what you're doing there, you shouldn't be there."

Matt Lucero, who runs Buddy's, said the city should work to craft an
ordinance that is "legally enforceable" and "reasonable."

"I think they should put reasonable limitations on the number (of
dispensaries), on the locations, and have some appropriate safeguards
in place, probably set and monitored by the local police department,"
Lucero said.

He said he believes Mountain View can support two or three
dispensaries. In the meantime, he's preparing for the Santa Clara
County Superior Court hearing Wednesday morning, when city attorney
Jannie Quinn will seek a preliminary injunction to shut down his
collective. Quinn has declined to comment on the case.

Lucero said if the court closes his dispensary, he will simply open
another one elsewhere. He says he has more than 600 clients.

"We're going to keep operating," Lucero said. "We're going to
dominate whatever market we stay in. I just think Mountain View
residents are going to be really screwed."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The Mountain View City Council will hold a study session on
medical marijuana regulations.

WHEN: Today, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall, 500 Castro St., Mountain View

MORE INFO: www.mountainview.gov