COUNCIL TO LOOK AT MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

The City Council will be considering possible adoption of an ordinance
that would require medicinal marijuana dispensaries to obtain a
regulatory permit and agree to certain operational restrictions. The
ordinance would also define what constitutes a medical marijuana
dispensary, add marijuana dispensaries as a conditional use in
industrial zones, and define operational criteria for
dispensaries.

The ordinance will come before the council at the May 23 meeting and
will come back to the council, if approved, at the June 13 meeting for
final adoption.

According to City Manager Andy Whiteman, the ordinance was drafted by
looking at similar municipalities and their codes for regulating
dispensaries. Language was then modified to suit the area.

There isnt much in our ordinances that regulate the activities of
clinics, said Whiteman, noting that the city has had some inquiries
about the development of clinics and dispensaries.

According to the draft ordinance, following the passage of Proposition
215 (the Compassionate Use Act of 1996), the state enacted SB240 in
2004, giving local governments the ability to adopt and enforce
regulations.

Nothing in the ordinance will allow persons to engage in conduct that
endangers others or causes a public nuisance, allow for the use of
marijuana for non-medical purposes, or allow any activity relating to
the cultivation, transportation, distribution or consumption of
marijuana that is otherwise illegal, it reads.

An introduction to the ordinance also read that during a Planning
Commission medical marijuana dispensary use permit hearing on Nov. 12,
2003, some individuals raised concerns for public safety. Marijuana
smoking, loitering, potential impacts on children, and negative
impacts on nearby property values were some of the concerns raised at
the time. A second hearing for a dispensary use permit in an
industrial zone on March 24, 2004 raised no concerns from neighbors
and some security concerns from commissioners.