In a memo to the council, City Attorney Ted Schneider stated the “urgency” measure is necessary because of a number of inquiries from people and their legal representatives interested in opening dispensaries in Fillmore.
The proposed zoning ordinance states police Chief Tim Hagel “maintains that the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries will result in an increase in criminal activity such as burglaries, robberies and the sale of illegal drugs in areas immediately surrounding such dispensaries.”
Other cities in Ventura County have adopted similar moratoriums, according to Schneider’s memo.
If the Fillmore moratorium is adopted by a required four-fifths vote of the council, a public hearing on the matter will be held during the 45-day period. Before the moratorium expires, Schneider intends to ask the council to extend it up to nearly 11 months. The ordinance could then be extended once more for as long as a year.
That would give the city time to complete a study on the potential impacts of dispensaries and to possibly amend its zoning ordinance to permanently ban them, the proposed ordinance states.
Also during that time, a conflict between federal and state laws concerning medical marijuana may be resolved by the courts, according to Schneider. The federal Controlled Substances Act classifies marijuana as an illegal substance. But California’s Proposition 215, passed by voters in 1996, allows medical patients with a valid physician’s prescription to use marijuana to alleviate pain among other therapeutic purposes.
Further complicating the legal picture is another proposition that has qualified for the state’s November ballot, Schneider noted. It would allow people 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.
Other cities that previously adopted such moratoriums include Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard and Simi Valley, Schneider’s memo states. Those four cities later enacted permanent ordinances prohibiting the dispensaries.
Ventura has a one-year moratorium in place, while Thousand Oaks is waiting to receive an application for a dispensary before establishing procedures, the memo states.
Ojai City Manager Jere Kersnar said Ojai’s zoning ordinance does not mention medical marijuana dispensaries and therefore, by default, does not permit them.
Calls to Port Hueneme and Santa Paula officials were not immediately returned.
The Fillmore City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 250 Central Ave.
Source: Ventura County Star
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