With a 3-2 vote Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission denied a minor-use permit for the medical marijuana collective proposed by Robert Brody of Los Angeles and Tom Meredith of Long Beach.
A county ordinance allowing establishment of dispensaries in unincorporated areas such as Nipomo and Oceano specifies the facilities must be located 1,000 feet away from public schools, playgrounds, parks, youth or recreation centers and libraries.
Although the proposed dispensary on Lindon Lane was more than 1,000 feet from Nipomo High School, a private gymnastics studio is located within 94 feet of the building where the facility would have been located.
County planning staff recommended the commission deny the permit because of the dispensary’s close proximity to the gymnastics studio.
Project planner Bill Robeson told the commission that the Planning Department took a “conservative stance” by applying the ordinance’s distance requirement to the gymnastics facility.
“That’s our basis for denial,” Robeson said, adding that the distance requirement was meant to protect children.
The majority of the commissioners denied the permit because they felt the facility wouldn’t be a compatible use for the commercial-serving neighborhood, and that the dispensary didn’t meet the requirements of the county’s ordinance.
“I do believe a gym falls into the definition of recreation, and that the 1,000-feet distance (requirement) specifically applies here,” said Commissioner Dan O’Grady, who voted to deny the permit.
Commissioners Carlyn Christianson and Anne Wyatt, who both dissented, said they don’t believe the private facility falls within the parameters of a public youth-serving center.
Wyatt also indicated she feels that not permitting the dispensary in Nipomo would be a loss for county residents that use medical marijuana but don’t have safe access locally to the drug.
“If we don’t allow it in this spot, I don’t think we’ll see one anywhere,” Wyatt said, adding that denying the permit was equal to a “de facto moratorium” on dispensaries. “I think that’s a sad reality for people in chronic pain who need this.”
Robeson told the commission there are very few locations in the unincorporated areas of the county where a dispensary could open.
“It’s really difficult,” he said.
There are between 400 and 500 residents in the county who have medical marijuana identification cards, according to planning staff.
The proposed dispensary met overwhelming opposition from the community, which felt the facility would be a magnet for criminal activity that couldn’t be abated because of a lack of law enforcement in Nipomo.
“I can’t think of one benefit of having this in Nipomo,” said Linda Pruit, who along with her husband own the commercial center where the gymnastics studio is located.
The South County Advisory Council voted unanimously earlier this year to recommend denial of the project.
After the hearing, Brody expressed disappointment with the commission’s decision, and said he didn’t know whether he and Meredith would appeal. They have 14 days to appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors.
Source: Santa Maria Times
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