SOLANO COUNTY SUPERVISORS SEEKING BAN FOR MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

The Solano County Board of Supervisors is moving forward to ban
medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county.

Supervisors last month denied a request from a dispensary owner to
amend zoning codes to allow dispensaries. Board members asked staff
to bring back potential ordinance changes that would, in essence, ban
medical marijuana dispensaries.

On Tuesday, supervisors will consider adopting an interim urgency
ordinance that imposes a 45-day moratorium on any business or
facility that cultivates, sells and distributes medical marijuana in
unincorporated Solano County. They will also decide whether to hold a
public hearing Oct. 4 to consider an extension of the urgency ordinance.

Staff explained in a report to the board that an increase in the
number of cities and counties in the region have adopted ordinances
prohibiting such dispensaries, which places increased pressure to
locate those facilities in Solano County.

There have been strong signals, according to staff, from the federal
government that it will take aggressive action against local agencies
that abet the commercial distribution of medical marijuana, because
it violates federal marijuana laws.

Still, the county's zoning ordinance says that dispensaries are
permissible in the Neighborhood Commercial and Business and
Professional Office zoning districts.

Additionally, there is a pending business license application for a
facility that may have part of its operation involved the
distribution of medical marijuana.

"Staff does not want to be in a position of having to act on the
application until the exact nature of the use is known, nor do we
want to act prematurely on the application in light of the board's
recent direction to come back with an ordinance banning medical
marijuana facilities," the report's authors wrote.

County staff admit that there are challenges in navigating between
the state and federal laws and standards.

"Staff believes it is prudent and appropriate to establish a
moratorium until the county assesses the best approach to address the
board's direction and comply with federal and state law," the report noted.

At the end of the 45-day moratorium, staff will inform the board
about the status of the analysis and either recommend ordinance
changes or identify areas where further study is needed.

If the board chooses to extend the initial 45-day moratorium, the
maximum extension allowed is an additional 10 months and 15 days.

The Solano County Board of Supervisors meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the
County Government Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield.