San Benito County this week imposed a temporary moratorium on
medical marijuana dispensaries, approving an ordinance that allows
45 days to consider ways to regulate or prohibit pot clubs.
San Benito County this week imposed a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, approving an ordinance that allows 45 days to consider ways to regulate or prohibit pot clubs.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the measure on Tuesday at the recommendation of Gary Armstrong, the county’s director of planning and building inspection services. The cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista previously adopted bans on dispensaries.
“Currently, no zoning designation in the San Benito County Zoning Ordinance permits medical marijuana dispensaries, clubs, collectives or other such businesses and therefore the use is considered prohibited,” Armstrong said in a report to the board.
The approval of the urgency ordinance allows county staff time to study the issue and return to the board with an ordinance either regulating or banning dispensaries, including collectives, cooperatives, clubs and clinics. Tuesday’s vote allows for supervisors to vote on extending the moratorium for up to two years after its expiration in April, though those who addressed the issue at the meeting hope for a decision after the initial study period.
“I think this is appropriate action by the board today,” said Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who called dispensaries “to a degree, a farce.”
“There’s a lot more going on under the surface” at the facilities, he added, noting that the county’s limited resources make it difficult to monitor activities there. “I hope we as a board and a county move to ban dispensaries.”
The urgency ordinance was spurred by the opening of a Purple Cross Rx medical marijuana dispensary on Bolsa Road near Flynn Road. County officials have said the facility is on land zoned for agricultural uses and have told the landlord that his tenant, Scott McPhail, does not have permission to operate the dispensary there. Purple Cross previously had a location in downtown Hollister and was sued by the city for violating zoning codes there as well.
McPhail closed the facility before the matter went to court and the city dropped its suit. He then opened a Purple Cross location in Los Banos and recently closed that one as well after that city cited the same zoning concerns.
Supervisor Robert Rivas said he wants to see resolution on San Benito County’s rules regulating or banning dispensaries within the 45-day window “so we can have our options on whether it’s an outright ban or to move forward with restrictions.”
There were no speakers at the supervisors’ public hearing on the matter, which requires that the board must, 10 days prior to the 45-day deadline, issue a written report “describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the ordinance.”
A report accompanying the emergency ordinance included a number of findings defending the move, such as saying that dispensaries “have the potential to cause serious harmful effects on the neighborhoods in which they are located.”
The presence of large amounts of marijuana and cash at these facilities is a concern, the report said, as is the potential for “burglaries, robberies, illegal sales of drugs,” and driving while under the influence of marijuana.
The report did also note that there is a potential for revenue to the county “if the Board wishes to regulate the use versus banning the use.”
