The board initially passed the 45-day urgency ordinance in September to try to stop a rush of dispensary openings taking place as county staff was trying to craft guidelines to deal with the establishments under the current zoning ordinance, as Lake County News has reported.

Community Development Director Rick Coel, whose interpretation of the county ordinance is that dispensaries and collectives currently aren't allowed, said staff was asking for the board to extend the moratorium.

The extension will automatically be for 10 and a half months, but Coel said staff doesn't need quite that much time to finish a zoning amendment draft, which he expects to have to the board in 45 days.

Lower Lake attorney Ron Green and retired District 1 Supervisor Ed Robey had submitted a letter to the board stating that they supported extending the moratorium but requesting that that the county delete the moratorium's “irrelevant and inaccurate” third paragraph.

That paragraph states, in part, that “the Lake County Zoning Ordinance does not presently allow and has thus far never approved the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries although several dispensaries have been established and are presently in operation in the unincorporated areas of the County ...”

Alternately, Green and Robey recommended keeping the paragraph but rewriting it so that it reads “the Lake County Zoning Ordinance does not presently explicitly allow … ” They suggested that the zoning ordinance may in fact allow for dispensaries in the C1 and C2 commercial zones, and compared medical marijuana sales to pharmaceutical sales.

Supervisor Rob Brown said Green and Robey had made the same request at the previous meeting during which the moratorium had been discussed, and he said he disagreed with it.

Brown said Coel has had his hands full with dispensaries that have continued to pop up even with the moratorium in place, and he was concerned that the wording was a way to accommodate dispensaries that are operating illegally.

One of the lingering questions for the county has been how to decide when a dispensary actually opened. Supervisor Jeff Smith suggested looking at when they began collecting tax to submit to the state Board of Equalization.

Coel said he's looked at a variety of ways to track openings, as he wasn't comfortable basing it on fictitious business name filings, which usually are made well before a business opens.

He confirmed that dispensaries have continued to open regardless of the county's temporary moratorium being in place. Despite being warned by county officials, another dispensary opened in Nice on Monday, he said.

Brown asked how many dispensaries currently were operating within the county. Coel said he believed there were seven before the moratorium went into effect, and now he believes it's between 10 and 12. Brown said he thought it was as high as 13.

“We have 17 gas stations in the county, so before long we'll have more dispensaries than gas stations,” said Brown.

He contended that the dispensaries are opening not to serve people who are ill but to make a profit on people with legitimate needs.

Green, who was present for the meeting, told the board that he doesn't think looking at the Board of Equalization records works in trying to figure out when the dispensaries opened.

He suggested there were as many as a dozen dispensaries already opened by the time the board approved the temporary moratorium on Sept. 15.

Green suggested Tuesday that between 15 and 20 were currently operating.

He said that at the Sept. 15 meeting Brown put him on the spot as to the zoning ordinance's wording and what it might allow.

“I've looked a little closer at it,” said Green, which is why he asked for the paragraph deletion, because he interpreted the language as possibly allowing the establishments.

Brown said the discussion at that point was only about the moratorium, and he suggested Green was attempting to grandfather something into the language, which Brown said wasn't in anyone's best interests until the zoning ordinance was done.

Green said he was concerned that the ordinance's wording already was opening the door to potential problems, and added that the courts have held that dispensaries are legal if they're not for profit collectives or cooperatives.

Board Chair Denise Rushing said the discussion was starting to stray from the temporary ordinance itself.

“This is precisely why we need additional time to dial in an ordinance,” said Coel.

He emphasized his interpretation that dispensaries currently aren't covered in the zoning ordinance.

Coel also suggested there were flaws in Green's suggestion that dispensaries might be allowed in C1 and C2 zoning areas through comparisons between dispensaries and pharmacies and liquor stores. The C1 zoning, Coel explained, doesn't allow for liquor stores.

“For me this is a timeout,” said Supervisor Anthony Farrington.

He said Green's argument about dispensaries possibly already being allowed is on record. “This is going to be an issue that needs clarification.”

Farrington said the zoning laws will need to clearly delineate where dispensaries fit. “That's a dialog that I think we as a body need to have sooner rather than later,” he said, adding that they need to move forward quickly on the cultivation aspects.

County Counsel Anita Grant suggested the board not change the proposed moratorium's language at that time.

Community member Gary Williamson, the only person besides Green to give public comment during the brief hearing, asked what the county is doing about the dispensaries that have opened in violation of the moratorium. Officials noted that Community Development is handling those situations.

Brown moved to extend the ordinance, which the board approved in a 4-0 vote. Supervisor Jim Comstock was absent from Tuesday's meeting.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (10)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

profits
written by lenny, October 28, 2009

Supervisor Brown contended that the dispensaries are opening not to serve people who are ill but to make a profit on people with legitimate needs. Hummmm….
In some cases, unfortunately I would agree. However I look outside the confines of just this medicine and dispensaries finding the above statement to be an established truth, long time running right here in the United States within our current Insurance Company Industry. Please read the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...41703.html

• 
• +1
• 
• 

A Pharmacy making a profit
written by Donna Christopher, October 28, 2009

off of folks with illness or conditions that require prescriptions??? I'm shocked, SHOCKED ala' Casablanca. This cracks me up - since when did making a profit off of human suffering become an issue? Isn't that what the whole health care for all debate is about? If decriminalizing cannabis becomes state law in the 2010 election, do we get our money back from all this tax payer funded 'dithering'?

• 
• +7
• 
• 

Growing in a "NO Drug Zone" and why is this allowed
written by Shadowknows, October 28, 2009

So, Pot is a Drug, and people go to jail for possession of Pot. Unless you had a card. But when you have the card, you are legal. Legal to grow huge crops of weed in a residential "Drug Free Zone". More than what is allowed and way more than one can possibly smoke in one year *for Medical Purposes* What a JOKE> Such as the issue in Kelseyville, right smack in between the High School and Elementary school. These back yard growers have at least 100K worth of pot growing in nearly every other yard, only feet from neighbors homes who dont grown and go to work to support this community. The stench is sickening and the back yard grows are a disturbance to neighboring homes. Why has this issue of Drug Free Zones not been mentioned in your zoning meeting, Supervisors? You have a wider range of issues here than meets the eye and yet, nothing is being done about residential grows for profit. What is one plant worth? 3 to 4 K? and how many are you allowed to grow off one card? 25? Lets add that up. Looks like 100 K to me. Why work? Lets all get a card and grow, pay no more taxes and if you can't Lick them, Join them.......Lake county can become just another Arcata Pot growing infested mess which looks to me, the direction it's heading.

• 
• -2
• 
• 

What's the number of that Dr.....???
written by Shadowknows, October 28, 2009

My big toe hurts and I don't want to work and pay taxes anymore.....Get my point?

• 
• -5
• 
• 

Free Market
written by a guest, October 28, 2009

and putting them grow clubs by schools and Post Offices has shot themseles in da foot. No restraint.

• 
• -3
• 
• 

The idiots should tax them
written by allen, October 28, 2009

They're always complaining they don't have enough money to run the government. Oakland taxes the pot clubs and the pot clubs are glad to pay because they want to be seen as a legitimate part of the community. If those supes with a stick up their ass want to ban pot, they're flying in the face of the law. Eventually, the County will be sued by the pot clubs and then they'll spend $$$ of our money defending against those suits.

• 
• +8
• 
• 

Limits
written by solincobb, October 28, 2009

Trying to limit pot shops to industrial zoned properties, also seems a little far fetched. You have people growing their own right in town, yet people who don't or can't have to drive out to Ogulan Canyon, that doesn't seem reasonable

• 
• +4
• 
• 

Take the Pot Club test...
written by Blendshare, October 30, 2009

Will "The people" stop smoking, buying, or growing pot if the County shuts the Clubs down?
No.
Will the County spend a lot of time, money and resources to shut the clubs down?
Yes.
Will our cash starved county lose any potential tax revenue by shutting the Clubs down?
Yes.
Will our Law enforcement system become overwhelmed by thousands of new criminals in our midst?
Yes.
Will the "Mexican Mafia" and other criminal elements move in to fill the void left by shutting down the clubs?
Possibly.
Any more questions?

• 
• +0
• 
• 

...
written by Gabandgo, October 30, 2009

“For me this is a timeout,” said Supervisor Anthony Farrington.


Classic Farrington. Great quote Elizabeth.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

What about the Constitution
written by filemaker01, November 18, 2009

There are aspects of the constitution that people don't like for their own personal reasons but it's there all the same. If you take away the coops, then you risk huge losses in taxes and the organized crime syndicates move in besides the small time dealer who have been known to lace their pot with other drugs that are addicting or poisonous. Medical Marijuana is here to stay whether there are those who like it or not. If you don't learn to control and set up guidelines now rather than just ban this medicine, you risk losing a hold on regulating this in a way that is legitimate, loose tax dollars and those who are seriously ill and have a legitimate use suffer. Other counties will earn the tax dollars instead.

If you want to restrict medical pot from areas zoned for schools then you have to do the same for legitimate prescriptions as well.

Coops should be absolutely regulated and it's just as simple to set up guidelines that will allow these places to be established where there is less threat to the public which there is little threat anyway.

It isn't the people using the medicine that are the ones who actually grow in most cases but they should be allowed to grow their own considering the huge threat of the product being laced or controlled by organized crime which if you don't know enforce their own policies with violence and hurt people who are innocent without any court of law or anything that points to justice.

If there is a bad smell in your neighborhood then take it to court where a judge can determine whether or not this is a public health issue and I can't agree more that the smell is very bad and nobody should have to live next door to a skunk so why a grower? The courts are there for a reason and it's far too late to recriminalize this drug now so why not just everyone work together to find a solution so that everyone wins? Regardless of one's own choice in life on whether or not to use this drug for medical purposes should be left between the doctors and their patients however having to live next door to a large amount of traffic and the smell is something the courts can deal with. My teacher in my philosophy class in college teaches that there is very little compassion anymore in this world and especially here in the US. It takes a very big hearted person to have compassion and very cold hearted people to just beat down, fine and imprison people with legitimate medical problems where only this drug seems to help. I would hate to watch people suffer just because I don't like opiates but if they work and are used correctly for the right purpose then who am I to force people to suffer just because I personally don't like the medications they take for my own selfish and hurtful and hateful reasons? Remember, organized crime doesn’t want medical marijuana legalized either and they have their own justice system that you really don’t want to know about.

• 
• +0
• 
•