COMMISSION RECOMMENDS POT SHOP BAN

It didn't take long for the Corning Planning Commission to recommend
an ordinance to the City Council that would ban medical marijuana
dispensaries.

The commission came to the unanimous decision during Tuesday's public
hearing following only a few minutes of discussion.

Planning Director John Stoufer told the commission the city had until
July 6 to have an ordinance in place if it planned on doing so before
its interim ordinance banning dispensaries sunsets on Aug. 6.

"Once an ordinance is adopted by the City Council it takes 30 days
before it goes into affect," Stoufer explained.

The ordinance will now go before the City Council on June
14.

Stoufer said the city ad hoc committee responsible for creating the
ordinance first defined what is a medical marijuana dispensary.

The commission agreed with that definition, which states a dispensary
is a medical marijuana collective, cooperative, etc., that either has
a storefront or mobile outlet of the type that ordinarily requires a
local business license, or has four or more members, patients or customers.

"This permits three patients to associate, cultivate and distribute
medical marijuana among themselves," Stoufer said. "Anymore than that
and it falls under the definition of dispensary."

According to the planning director, the ad hoc committee didn't draw
the number three out of the air, but used the city's medical marijuana
cultivation ordinance to come to that conclusion.

Commission Chairman Ryan Reilly agreed with Stoufer's comments that
the city's marijuana cultivation ordinance, which allows medical
marijuana to be grown within an enclosed 120-square-foot area, is
sufficient to handle the marijuana cultivation of three patients.

Stoufer re-emphasized to the committee that the ordinance is not about
the legality of medical marijuana use, but zoning codes within the
Corning.

The ordinance reads in part, "Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Code, the establishment, development, construction, maintenance,
or operation of a Marijuana Dispensary is hereby prohibited, and is
not a permitted or conditionally permitted use in any Zoning district,
even if located within an otherwise permitted use."

It also states the city will not approve of any application for a
building permit, use permit, variance or any other entitlement
concerning marijuana dispensaries.

Enforcement of the ordinance includes medical marijuana dispensaries
being considered a public nuisance, and that they will be abated by
the city through a summary abatement procedure.

There were no comments from the public during the hearing.