POT DISPENSARY PLAN PANNED AS TOO RESTRICTIVE

The Flagstaff City Council has scrapped a proposal to restrict where
medical marijuana dispensaries could set up shop in the city, deeming
it too restrictive.

Councilmember Art Babbott led the charge against the staff-authored
proposal.

"What the voters approved I did not see in the draft ordinance,"
Babbott said. "This does not satisfy the intent of the voters of Arizona."

The measure barely squeaked by statewide but won by a 59-41 margin in
Flagstaff.

Babbott pointed out that adult-oriented businesses like strip clubs
and adult bookstores face less stringent zoning, requiring them to be
only 75 feet away from schools versus 1,000 feet for pot dispensaries
as proposed by city staff.

"Pornography is much, much less restrictive," he said.

Councilmember Coral Evans made her disdain for the proposal
known.

"I've never seen a more negatively written ordinance in my life,"
Evans said.

Councilmember Karla Brewster echoed Evans' criticism.

"If I was in a classroom," the NAU employee said, "I would feel like I
was being lectured."

The statewide ballot measure, also known as Prop. 203, set some zoning
restrictions for the location of dispensaries, primarily that they
must be at least 500 feet from schools. It did allow cities to adopt
more restrictive zoning.

The current city proposal requires a 2,000-foot buffer between
dispensaries and drug treatment facilities as well as a 1,000-foot
buffer from "protected uses" like schools, day care facilities,
libraries, parks and churches.

Out of thousands of commercially zoned properties inside the city
limits, only 118 areas would be viable under the staff proposal.

The draft plan also:

- -- prohibits any dispensary from offering drive-through
service

- -- caps the size of the dispensaries at 2,500 square feet, with no
more than 500 square feet to be used for storage

- -- limits hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In defense of the zoning recommendations, city officials listed in the
report several negative secondary effects seen by dispensaries in
other states.

They include: DUI arrests related to marijuana purchases, burglaries
at dispensaries, mugging of patrons and a decline in retail sales at
adjacent businesses.

Local attorney Lee Philips, who represents several groups interested
in getting a dispensary license, said those being prescribed marijuana
under the new state law should not be treated like criminals,
regardless of what has been seen in other states.

"The horror stories from California are not going to happen here,"
Philips said.

Councilmember Al White said the city was treating dispensaries more
like a business seeking a liquor license rather than a medical pharmacy.

"This a medical use for patients with an approved need ... and we
should treat them with respect," White said. "I would advise we look
at this as a pharmacy."

By the end of the night, the council had instructed staff to rewrite
the ordinance to be more permissive.

Specifically, councilmembers wanted to see less restrictive zoning,
longer hours of operation and more square footage than outlined in the
proposal.

A new draft is expected after the new year.