GLENDALE UNVEILS MEDICAL-MARIJUANA PROPOSALS

Residents armed with questions attended a community meeting Thursday
to hear Glendale's proposed zoning restrictions on marijuana-related
facilities.

City planners propose to allow dispensaries in general-office,
general-commercial and heavy-commercial zones and the cultivation in
light- and heavy-industrial zones.

Senior planner Thomas Ritz said the city wants "reasonable
regulations" in place before the new state law takes effect in the spring.

Ritz said the city is not proposing to require a conditional-use
permit, which would require a public hearing. The city is approaching
it more as a "right to use" than mandating a more intense review.

Glendale also proposes not to collect fees or taxes on the
dispensaries because they will be non-profit.

State voters in November approved the cultivation and dispensing of
marijuana for medical purposes. The law allows for up to 124
dispensaries in Arizona and for cities to enact reasonable zoning regulations.

Planning director Jon Froke said the proposals are expected to go to
the Planning Commission on Jan. 20 and tentatively planned to go to
City Council for approval on Feb. 8. Froke said the proposals could
change by the time they are adopted.

More than 30 people packed a meeting room at the Glendale Adult
Center. They asked questions about the application process for a
dispensary, if the city would profit from the new law and
clarification on some of the proposals.

Doug Banfelder, an insurance specialist, cautioned the city about
putting dispensaries in heavy-commercial zones, which he said tend to
have more crime and make the facilities harder to insure.

And "it may keep patients away if they feel they are in a high-crime
area to buy their medicine," Banfelder said. "There's a danger you
may drive that underground."

Most of the heavy-commercial zones in the city are near the Grand
Avenue corridor and along Glendale Avenue, Ritz said.

Ritz noted the dispensaries could opt to locate in other commercial zones.

Only two Glendale residents voiced objection to the new law.

"Is there anything in the law that says Glendale has to participate?"
asked Bonnie Bauer, who said after the meeting that studies show the
marijuana can harm the brain.

Ritz said an outright prohibition is not considered reasonable.

Bonnie Steiger said she opposed such facilities in residential areas,
which under the zoning proposals would be banned. She said she hoped
there wouldn't be a proliferation, which she compared to payday loan stores.

But others supported the law, including a woman who said her mother
with cancer has a medicine chest full of prescriptions.

Glendale resident Michael Mogliotti said he intends to open a
dispensary in Glendale if approved.

Mogliotti, who uses marijuana for back pain, said he was one of the
first medical marijuana patients in Oregon in 1998.

Glendale considers medical-marijuana rules

Glendale proposes several zoning regulations to dictate where
registered non-profit medical-marijuana facilities can locate in the city.

Arizona voters in November approved Proposition 203 to legalize the
use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Municipalities can implement zoning regulations. Otherwise, under the
new law, the facilities can be allowed anywhere as long as they are
more than 500 feet from a school, according to Glendale staff.

The city's proposed regulations are aimed at
medical-marijuana-related enterprises such as growers and sellers.

All of the facilities must be in a permanent building and not in a
trailer, cargo container or motor vehicle. They are prohibited within
5,280 feet of another medical-marijuana dispensary, cultivation
location or manufacturing facility, within 1,320 feet of a school and
500 feet of a residence.