Purple Cross has talked with county officials about moving
there
The landlord of the downtown Hollister medical marijuana
dispensary recently served Purple Cross Rx with a three-day
eviction notice that was ignored and this week filed an
”
unlawful detainer
”
action in court in an effort to force the shop to move.
”
I was very clear in the lease with regards to if I get any
scrutiny from the city and if you [Purple Cross] can’t defend
yourself, then I’m going to take action to get you out,
”
said Greg Dolan, who owns the building at 335 San Benito St.,
located between Third and Fourth streets.
”
From their perspective, they put an awful lot of money into
this. They have to leave, and I think they’re dragging it out.
”
Purple Cross has talked with county officials about moving there
The landlord of the downtown Hollister medical marijuana dispensary recently served Purple Cross Rx with a three-day eviction notice that was ignored and this week filed an “unlawful detainer” action in court in an effort to force the shop to move.
“I was very clear in the lease with regards to if I get any scrutiny from the city and if you [Purple Cross] can’t defend yourself, then I’m going to take action to get you out,” said Greg Dolan, who owns the building at 335 San Benito St., located between Third and Fourth streets. “From their perspective, they put an awful lot of money into this. They have to leave, and I think they’re dragging it out.”
An unlawful detainer typically is filed when a tenant who refuses to leave a leased property upon the expiration or termination of the lease. By filing the action with the court, the landlord satisfies due process rights as he or she proceeds with the eviction process.
Dolan said he has been in touch with Mayor Victor Gomez because the city has not backed off its claim that Purple Cross Rx is violating city zoning codes by operating a business that runs counter to federal law.
“He’s been in communication with me and I think he’s being very cooperative,” said Gomez. “After some thought, he felt [leasing to Purple Cross] probably wasn’t the best decision. Because we see he’s making an effort to be in compliance with city rules, we’re watching the situation very carefully.
“He’s moving toward the direction where we’d like to see him be. That’s given us some patience with him.”
Dolan said he did not have any regrets about leasing the third floor of his building to the dispensary in early January.
“There were two possible outcomes: that the city was going to allow them to stay or they weren’t,” he said. “I wasn’t blind to the situation. I knew exactly what to expect and I was prepared for it. I was taking my chances of the city letting them stay there. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. Bottom line is, I want to do the right thing.”
The city’s code enforcement office in mid-January served Purple Cross and Dolan with an order to shut down within 30 days or face fines potentially in the $1,000-a-day range. Also last month, the City Council passed an emergency ordinance banning the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries. On Feb. 5, the Council passed a regular ordinance containing the same prohibitions.
Scott McPhail, the operator of Purple Cross Rx, recently met with county planning officials to discuss the possibility of relocating the dispensary outside the city limits. McPhail could not be reached for comment before press time this week.
Dolan said that prior to agreeing to lease part of his downtown building to Purple Cross Rx, he did “a lot of research,” speaking to landlords and attorneys involved with dispensaries in Gilroy, Monterey, Santa Clara and San Jose.
“I got really nothing but positive feedback, with people saying that over time and in due process, this will become a norm,” Dolan said. “I believe I did my due diligence at the time. I kept in touch with the mayor and let him know what I was doing. I covered every angle in the lease.”
McPhail was an existing tenant in the building, leasing space for Felony1 Records, of which he is CEO. Dolan considers McPhail a “colleague-slash-friend” who has been “an ideal tenant.” The eviction notice does not apply to the record company’s leased space, Dolan said.
“Paying rent has never been an issue,” he said. “The building has been kept clean, I really could not find a fault for them being there. I cannot fault their efforts and their set-up – that’s why it’s hard for me to even do this.”
But the city’s claim that Purple Cross is operating against city codes, and the lack of a resolution of that claim between the city and the dispensary, has led to the eviction action.
“I’ve been very leery from the beginning and I said I’m going to be on the city’s side,” Dolan said. “I’m only going with it if it’s legit and everybody gives it a blessing. I did my due process. Now I decided to make a move.”
Gomez said that the expected eviction of Purple Cross from its downtown location may not “solve all of our problems, because [McPhail] might have another landlord willing to rent to him within the city limits.”
City officials have reportedly discussed the possibility of filing suit against Purple Cross, but no such action has been taken. If it does come to litigation to force the dispensary out of the city, Gomez believes Hollister is in better shape than neighboring cities that are trying to shut down similar dispensaries.
“Our zoning ordinance was pretty well established where it said that if something is against federal law, it’s not allowed within the city,” he said, referring to the distribution of medical marijuana. “If anything, we’ve learned that we have to make sure that if somebody’s not in compliance, we need to do what’s needed to make sure people understand our zoning code and follow it. People need to understand it and it needs to be written clearly. I think we did the right thing.”
Gomez said that the council has delayed a decision about pursuing further legal action against Purple Cross until Councilwoman Eugenia Sanchez, who has missed recent meetings after breaking her foot, returns.
“We’re also waiting to see how the landlord handles this situation,” he said.
