EUREKA MARIJUANA DISPENSARY FIGHTS TO KEEP DOORS OPEN

The Hummingbird Healing Center plans to appeal a Humboldt Superior
Court judge's ruling that paves the way for the county to shutter the
Myrtletown medical marijuana dispensary.

"Although the trial court appears to have put a great deal of effort
into the ruling, which we do appreciate, it still appears that the
decision is legally in error," the dispensary's attorney, Chris
Johnson Hamer, wrote in an e-mail to the Times-Standard on Wednesday.

Hummingbird Healing Center has been operating without a county-issued
conditional use permit since opening its doors in the Myrtletown
shopping center last fall. The county recently brought suit against
the dispensary, arguing that the dispensary is operating in violation
of county zoning ordinances and seeking a preliminary injunction that
would force the dispensary to close its doors until the conclusion of
the court case or until it procures the proper permits.

On Tuesday, Humboldt County Judge Dale Reinholtsen ruled in favor of
the county, granting the preliminary injunction that will force the
center to close, at least temporarily.

Hamer said in her e-mail that the center not only intends to appeal
Reinholtsen's order for a preliminary injunction but will also seek to
stay the order pending a review by the California Court of Appeals. On
behalf of the dispensary, Hamer has argued that medical marijuana
dispensaries do not need conditional use permits in the county's
neighborhood commercial zone, as they are principally permitted uses.
Dispensaries, Hamer argued, are no different than other retail stores.

"This is a store that sells medical marijuana," she told the court at
a July 14 hearing.

Deputy County Counsel Davina Smith argued that there is no mention of
medical marijuana dispensaries in the county's zoning ordinance, that
they are not a principally permitted use in the neighborhood
commercial zone and that dispensaries consequently need to go before
the Humboldt County Planning Commission to seek a conditional use
permit before opening.

The Hummingbird Healing Center currently has a conditional use permit
application pending with the county, according to Planner Steven
Lazar, who said the application was submitted "several months ago."

Lazar said conditional use permit applications are generally heard by
the commission in the order they're received and processed, pointing
out that The Humboldt County Collective applied for a conditional use
permit in May of last year, and is still working through the process.
Because the collective is seeking to open up just a stone's thrown
from Hummingbird, in the same Myrtletown shopping center, Lazar said
the outcome of its application could be a kind of litmus test for
Hummingbird.

So far, the collective's permit has been the subject of a pair of
planning commission hearings, and Lazar said he expects the commission
to decide the fate of the permit at its next meeting.

Meanwhile, Hummingbird's application will have to wait in
line.

"We'll probably be setting them for a hearing in the coming months,
but nothing is set yet," Lazar said. "Our commission calendar is just
so full because we only have one opportunity a month to get things
on."