POT RULES TO BE REVISITED

County's Only Legal Dispensaries in Shasta Lake

SHASTA LAKE -- The planning commission will take public input
Thursday on proposed changes to the city's rules on medical marijuana
dispensaries.

Shasta Lake is the only place in the county where dispensaries can
legally operate. Anderson, Redding and the unincorporated county all
have banned dispensaries.

Commissioners will decide whether to recommend to the City Council
that Shasta Lake remove its permitting system for dispensaries while
keeping zoning regulations in place for the businesses.

"We are looking at our ordinance and taking out all of the
requirements for permitting," said Carla Thompson, development
services director.

The City Council voted Jan. 3 to have the planning commission review
the matter. Nearly 30 people spoke at that meeting, mostly in favor
of keeping the city's two dispensaries open.

City Attorney John Kenny has advised Shasta Lake that continuing to
issue permits for dispensaries could make the city liable for
criminal prosecution. His opinion is based on the ruling in the Pack
vs. Long Beach case, where the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled
that a permitting system for collectives in Long Beach went far
beyond the state's Proposition 215 and conflicts with federal law.

"The city of Shasta Lake's ordinance provides for permits for
collectives and cooperatives and is the type of ordinance that was
struck down by the Pack case," Kenny said in a letter to Thompson.

The Pack ruling became state law in November, though the case is
being appealed to the California Supreme Court, Thompson said in a
staff report.

Kenny has argued the city still can regulate dispensaries through zoning.

The zoning regulations, already a part of the city's municipal code,
regulate where, when and how the dispensaries may operate. Those
rules have been in place since January 2010.

Thompson said that she expects the meeting to be well attended, as is
typically case with any medical marijuana item before the city.

"I believe that both collective owners are notifying their members," she said.

Jamie Kerr, owner of the 530 Collective on Locust Avenue, said she'll
attend the meeting but isn't planning to speak and isn't encouraging
others to do so.

"My feeling is that the City Council made their decision the other
night," she said. "I don't know that it would be beneficial for the
planning commission to hear a bunch of stories the city has already heard."

IF YOU GO

What: Shasta Lake Planning Commission meeting

When: 6 p.m. Thursday

Where: John Beaudet Community Center,1525 Median Ave.