4A Public Hearing 2014 0421 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 20, 2014 Page 4 of 6 use, Planner Barros advised that since the work session, proposals concerning both live -work/work-live and entertainment have been tabled in the interest of further research. Because the medical marijuana dispensary would be required to renew its permit annually, Commissioner Fitzsimons asked if part of the renewal process would involve checking for continued conformance with the distance requirement, in case a sensitive use began operations within the 1,000-foot radius of an existing dispensary. Planner Barros said the permit-renewal requirement relates to the Municipal Code rather than the Zoning Code. The CUP runs with the land, she explained, so the dispensary’s CUP wouldn’t be revoked on that basis, and the grandfathered rights would transfer to a new dispensary that met the same criteria as the original dispensary and was approved to occupy the same parcel. Chair Abero invited public comments. No speakers came forward. Motion to close public hearing Collier/Rennie: 7Aye, 0 No Commissioner Rennie said he’s conflicted by this proposal for both philosophical and practical reasons. He said implementation and oversight would burden City staff. As a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is not recognized as having any value by the federal government. If that position were to change, states would have the leeway to do what California and communities such as San Leandro are trying to do, but in a more rational way. That would enable treating marijuana like a prescription drug that could be appropriately evaluated for potency and application, with guidelines for prescribing and dispensing it that would discourage unlawful use. “But we’re not there,” Commissioner Rennie said, so we have to work within the constraints of the Compassionate Use Act and the Medical Marijuana Program Act. Although the law specifies that only qualified patients and primary caregivers could cultivate, grow and consume marijuana, he said that he fears we’ll end up instead with entrepreneurs wanting to open up businesses to sell marijuana. And if a business actually complies with the law, he said we shouldn’t be imposing special taxes and fees. Commissioner Rennie said he supports the idea of medical marijuana for critically ill people who need it to ease their pain and suffering or enable them to eat, and it should be available to them without a lot of restrictions and hassles. In this instance, he said he thinks it’s a question of scale. To serve four or more patients, the dispensary would need a police permit and comply with zoning regulations; with fewer than four patients, though, neither police permit nor zoning regulations would apply – and that latter scenario, Commissioner Rennie said, is where he thinks San Leandro ought to be. We should not encourage the commercial-scale distribution of marijuana because it’s too subject to abuse and too difficult to control, Commissioner Rennie said, and he cannot support the zoning changes proposed. Commissioner Rennie also pointed out that, in recent years. dispensary owners have been successfully prosecuted in criminal proceedings on the grounds that they are running for-profit operations and not in the way that was intended. Commissioner Leichner recommended two modifications to the proposed Zoning Code amendments for Commissioners to consider: 1) Make it clear that growhouse and cultivation would not be permitted uses 2) Establish a 1,500-square-foot limit to the size of the facility; an applicant who wanted a larger floorplate would come before the Planning Commission again Commissioner Fitzsimons, who views this issue in light of how other businesses are treated, said he sees in the annual permit renewal provisions extraordinary protections for the City in the event the operator of the medical marijuana dispensary turns out to be a bad operator. In terms of the dispensary, the ordinance the Council has already approved cannot take effect without required updates in the Zoning Code. As Commissioner Fitzsimons sees it, whether or not he personally favors it, the ordinance made the medical marijuana dispensary a matter of law in the City; the Planning Commission’s purview is to ensure the Zoning Code amendments mirror how the law is written. He believes it does, considers the proposals strong, and concurs with the Commissioner Leichner’s suggestion about making the prohibitions against growing and cultivating marijuana. However, he said he questions imposing square-footage limitations because that could just cause people to line up out side waiting to get in. He asked for staff input regarding size.