FruityBud
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If Santa Barbara has become a hotbed for medical marijuana dispensaries, then the Valley may be becoming fertile ground.
Within the last two months, at least two buildings in the Valley almost became home to marijuana dispensaries.
These efforts to set up pot shops in the area highlight a loophole in county policy regarding marijuana dispensaries.
For many business owners, establishing a dispensary in the countys jurisdiction is as simple as getting the OK from a property owner, according to county officials.
Diane Norman, owner of the Miramar Collective in Summerland, told the Journal that she was recently in negotiations with property owners in Santa Ynez and Los Olivos to establish a dispensary.
Both plans fell through when the buildings tenants became concerned when they caught wind of what was going on, compelling the owners to withdraw from the contracts, Norman said.
Norman said the North County is an ideal spot for a dispensary because it would provide a place for patients living in San Luis Obispo, where moratoriums on dispensaries are the norm, to legally access medicinal marijuana.
Were in Summerland, and many of our customers come out of Ventura County, she said. Wed like to provide that same convenience to people living in San Luis Obispo.
The Solvang resident said the landlord at Edison and Madera streets (across the street from the Journal) agreed to lease out the space, but changed her mind while building was underway.
Norman said she plans on taking the owner, Antonia Arroyo, to small claims court for violating their contract by refusing to reimburse her for the improvements made inside the building.
In an email to the Journal, Arroyo said, There is nothing and there was nothing there.
Nevertheless, the owner of a business near the suite, who asked to remain anonymous, said people had been asking her employees when the dispensary was opening. She also witnessed Sheriffs deputies coming by to check out the suite.
I was really concerned, she said. I wasnt quite clear what was going on in there, but were a tiny building, and I worried about security.
Lt. Mark Liddi of the Sheriffs Department said a narcotics detective told him that the owner claimed Norman entered into a lease based on false information something Norman adamantly denied.
Norman said she also attempted to open a dispensary in the 2000 block of Nojoqui in Los Olivos.
The owner (Bob Bartlett) came in and visited my store in Summerland, she said. His opinion was that all the wineries in Los Olivos are far more dangerous than medical cannabis.
Bartlett told the Journal he was aware of the situation but did not comment further.
I sympathize with Bob, Norman said. He went to speak to the sheriffs three times, and then he told a couple of his tenants that he was thinking about leasing the space to a medical cannabis collective and they went into frantic mode.
Lax guidelines rule
Now that the federal government has decided it will call off the dogs in regard to prosecuting legal users or providers of marijuana, and without rules from California, the guidelines to regulate medicinal marijuana have been left to local jurisdictions.
While cities such as Santa Barbara are currently bolstering restrictions on top of the requirements people must meet to get permits for dispensaries, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has erected no hurdles for those seeking to open medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas as long as the facilities are established in the retail zones, said Petra Leyva, supervising planner for county Planning and Development.
According to Black, those looking to set up a dispensary are only required to obtain a land-use permit when they change their building zoning to retail use.
On Oct.16, business owner William Walt got approval to set up a marijuana dispensary on a property just off the El Sueno on ramp near Goleta. But because the building was previously a physical therapy clinic, it fell under the medical land-use zoning, which required the owner to request a land use permit.
A neighbor has appealed to the county Planning Commission, which could take up the matter within the next two months.
Had the space been a bookstore, Walt could have sidestepped the countys planning department.
He would have also been able to avoid giving neighbors within 300 feet of the property 10 days notice as required by a land use permit.
I think our ordinances dont provide the development standards that some in the community would like to see, admitted Dianne Black, development services director in the county Planning Department. Were only now being confronted with these dispensaries.
A month before, local attorney William Wolf tried to establish a dispensary called the Wellness Center in Orcutt. The county Planning Commission was considering whether to issue a land use permit until the owner of the building, Greti Croft, confirmed that the prior use of the property was retail.
Although the project skirted the commission, it was ultimately torpedoed by the outcry of tenants, who convinced Croft to pass on the dispensary.
I wanted the best for them, for Orcutt and for the community, said Croft. I know I wouldnt like to live or do business next to a dispensary. They said they were selling natural healing stuff, but then they came back and said it was marijuana. Naturally, the tenants were concerned about safety.
Croft said five other offers came from other business owners, all wanting to build a marijuana dispensary.
Public concern
Some community members fear that weak regulation of marijuana dispensaries will have detrimental consequences.
These facilities will import crime into unsuspecting neighborhoods, said veterinarian Doug Herthel, a member of the Preservation of Los Olivos. With the federal government backing off, were going to experience the same problems theyre experiencing in Los Angeles County, if the county doesnt act.
During the planning hearings over the proposed Orcutt dispensary, some concerned citizens referenced information from the Drug Enforcement Agency regarding dispensaries in Los Angeles.
With reportedly more than 800 dispensaries, Los Angeles is often referred to as the countrys capital of medical marijuana.
In January 2007, for example, the DEA executed 11 search warrants and identified 17 owners or operators in the Los Angeles area. Of these owners and operators: 14 had prior criminal histories; seven had prior weapons charges; eight had prior drug charges; and two had murder or attempted murder charges.
I agree there is some ambivalence among a lot of people who believe the medicinal use of marijuana can bring relief for some people, while also being concerned about how it might be dispensed, said 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr. Its an ongoing issue that gets resolved jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
And I would take my lead from the community. When issues started to come to the fore in Orcutt, it wasnt the county but the property owner deciding that it was a business she didnt want.
And if there were sufficient public concern about it in the county, I think the public health department would bring the issue to the board of supervisors.
Fourth District Planning Commissioner Joe Valencia said he couldnt understand why it can take months to get a permit for a wine tasting room but, in these cases, zero days to get the OK for a marijuana dispensary.
While I recognize that the state voters support the medicinal use of marijuana, I still dont agree that it should be sold in the stores like flowers or fruits, he said. The guideline that we have now is overtly weak. (Dispensaries are) not out of control now, but they will be if people dont stand up.
Norman, whose plan to put a dispensary in the Valley is currently up in the air, said she sees things differently.
I used to think people who smoked were hippies and casual surfer stoners all doing it recreationally, she said. I changed my mind once I opened this collective. Theyre not derelicts, theyre not gang members. Theyre Montecito people, theyre well dressed, and I saw how they were really benefiting from it.
Norman said the only complaint shes heard about her dispensary when she opened it up was the smell an issue she said has since rectified.
And she said crime accompanies some dispensaries because theyre run by unscrupulous people.
Were indistinguishable from a Longs Drugs pharmacy, she said. We insist that people provide all legal documentation, and we only purchase from collectives so we know where theyre growing it and how theyre growing it.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/yzggvg2
Within the last two months, at least two buildings in the Valley almost became home to marijuana dispensaries.
These efforts to set up pot shops in the area highlight a loophole in county policy regarding marijuana dispensaries.
For many business owners, establishing a dispensary in the countys jurisdiction is as simple as getting the OK from a property owner, according to county officials.
Diane Norman, owner of the Miramar Collective in Summerland, told the Journal that she was recently in negotiations with property owners in Santa Ynez and Los Olivos to establish a dispensary.
Both plans fell through when the buildings tenants became concerned when they caught wind of what was going on, compelling the owners to withdraw from the contracts, Norman said.
Norman said the North County is an ideal spot for a dispensary because it would provide a place for patients living in San Luis Obispo, where moratoriums on dispensaries are the norm, to legally access medicinal marijuana.
Were in Summerland, and many of our customers come out of Ventura County, she said. Wed like to provide that same convenience to people living in San Luis Obispo.
The Solvang resident said the landlord at Edison and Madera streets (across the street from the Journal) agreed to lease out the space, but changed her mind while building was underway.
Norman said she plans on taking the owner, Antonia Arroyo, to small claims court for violating their contract by refusing to reimburse her for the improvements made inside the building.
In an email to the Journal, Arroyo said, There is nothing and there was nothing there.
Nevertheless, the owner of a business near the suite, who asked to remain anonymous, said people had been asking her employees when the dispensary was opening. She also witnessed Sheriffs deputies coming by to check out the suite.
I was really concerned, she said. I wasnt quite clear what was going on in there, but were a tiny building, and I worried about security.
Lt. Mark Liddi of the Sheriffs Department said a narcotics detective told him that the owner claimed Norman entered into a lease based on false information something Norman adamantly denied.
Norman said she also attempted to open a dispensary in the 2000 block of Nojoqui in Los Olivos.
The owner (Bob Bartlett) came in and visited my store in Summerland, she said. His opinion was that all the wineries in Los Olivos are far more dangerous than medical cannabis.
Bartlett told the Journal he was aware of the situation but did not comment further.
I sympathize with Bob, Norman said. He went to speak to the sheriffs three times, and then he told a couple of his tenants that he was thinking about leasing the space to a medical cannabis collective and they went into frantic mode.
Lax guidelines rule
Now that the federal government has decided it will call off the dogs in regard to prosecuting legal users or providers of marijuana, and without rules from California, the guidelines to regulate medicinal marijuana have been left to local jurisdictions.
While cities such as Santa Barbara are currently bolstering restrictions on top of the requirements people must meet to get permits for dispensaries, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has erected no hurdles for those seeking to open medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas as long as the facilities are established in the retail zones, said Petra Leyva, supervising planner for county Planning and Development.
According to Black, those looking to set up a dispensary are only required to obtain a land-use permit when they change their building zoning to retail use.
On Oct.16, business owner William Walt got approval to set up a marijuana dispensary on a property just off the El Sueno on ramp near Goleta. But because the building was previously a physical therapy clinic, it fell under the medical land-use zoning, which required the owner to request a land use permit.
A neighbor has appealed to the county Planning Commission, which could take up the matter within the next two months.
Had the space been a bookstore, Walt could have sidestepped the countys planning department.
He would have also been able to avoid giving neighbors within 300 feet of the property 10 days notice as required by a land use permit.
I think our ordinances dont provide the development standards that some in the community would like to see, admitted Dianne Black, development services director in the county Planning Department. Were only now being confronted with these dispensaries.
A month before, local attorney William Wolf tried to establish a dispensary called the Wellness Center in Orcutt. The county Planning Commission was considering whether to issue a land use permit until the owner of the building, Greti Croft, confirmed that the prior use of the property was retail.
Although the project skirted the commission, it was ultimately torpedoed by the outcry of tenants, who convinced Croft to pass on the dispensary.
I wanted the best for them, for Orcutt and for the community, said Croft. I know I wouldnt like to live or do business next to a dispensary. They said they were selling natural healing stuff, but then they came back and said it was marijuana. Naturally, the tenants were concerned about safety.
Croft said five other offers came from other business owners, all wanting to build a marijuana dispensary.
Public concern
Some community members fear that weak regulation of marijuana dispensaries will have detrimental consequences.
These facilities will import crime into unsuspecting neighborhoods, said veterinarian Doug Herthel, a member of the Preservation of Los Olivos. With the federal government backing off, were going to experience the same problems theyre experiencing in Los Angeles County, if the county doesnt act.
During the planning hearings over the proposed Orcutt dispensary, some concerned citizens referenced information from the Drug Enforcement Agency regarding dispensaries in Los Angeles.
With reportedly more than 800 dispensaries, Los Angeles is often referred to as the countrys capital of medical marijuana.
In January 2007, for example, the DEA executed 11 search warrants and identified 17 owners or operators in the Los Angeles area. Of these owners and operators: 14 had prior criminal histories; seven had prior weapons charges; eight had prior drug charges; and two had murder or attempted murder charges.
I agree there is some ambivalence among a lot of people who believe the medicinal use of marijuana can bring relief for some people, while also being concerned about how it might be dispensed, said 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr. Its an ongoing issue that gets resolved jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
And I would take my lead from the community. When issues started to come to the fore in Orcutt, it wasnt the county but the property owner deciding that it was a business she didnt want.
And if there were sufficient public concern about it in the county, I think the public health department would bring the issue to the board of supervisors.
Fourth District Planning Commissioner Joe Valencia said he couldnt understand why it can take months to get a permit for a wine tasting room but, in these cases, zero days to get the OK for a marijuana dispensary.
While I recognize that the state voters support the medicinal use of marijuana, I still dont agree that it should be sold in the stores like flowers or fruits, he said. The guideline that we have now is overtly weak. (Dispensaries are) not out of control now, but they will be if people dont stand up.
Norman, whose plan to put a dispensary in the Valley is currently up in the air, said she sees things differently.
I used to think people who smoked were hippies and casual surfer stoners all doing it recreationally, she said. I changed my mind once I opened this collective. Theyre not derelicts, theyre not gang members. Theyre Montecito people, theyre well dressed, and I saw how they were really benefiting from it.
Norman said the only complaint shes heard about her dispensary when she opened it up was the smell an issue she said has since rectified.
And she said crime accompanies some dispensaries because theyre run by unscrupulous people.
Were indistinguishable from a Longs Drugs pharmacy, she said. We insist that people provide all legal documentation, and we only purchase from collectives so we know where theyre growing it and how theyre growing it.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/yzggvg2
