4A Public Hearing 2014 0421 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes February 20, 2014 Page 5 of 6 Planner Barros said she’d be hesitant to place any limits on the size for several reasons. Harborside in Oakland, which is larger than 1,500 square feet, is very orderly dispensary that looks much like a pharmacy and stocks tinctures, oils, creams and salves as well as the flowers that many users smoke, she said, and it also uses its space for back operations such as product testing and security-camera monitoring. Planner Barros said Oakland’s experience with the smaller dispensaries has not been a good one. She noted that ensuring the dispensary has space to manufacture the value -added tinctures, creams, etc., onsite would encourage local production rather than importing this merchandise from out-of-state, and give San Leandro a better chance to capture that segment of the new economy for medicinal marijuana products. Secretary Liao added that most of the parcels eligible for medical marijuana dispensary tend to be large buildings located in the City’s central industrial zone, the focal point of Leandro’s Next Generation Workplace District Study. In response to Commissioner Hernandez, Planner Barros affirmed that the ordinance would allow both sales and manufacturing of marijuana products. Commissioner Rennie said the Planning Commission’s job is to review zoning text amendments and make recommendations to the City Council before it passes changes to land use. In this instance, he said, the sequence has been reversed, but he still feels it’s appropriate for the Planning Commission to voice its opinion as to whether the proposed land use is appropriate; the same would be true if the General Plan were being discussed – advising on amendments prior to their adoption by the City Council. Commissioner Rennie drew attention to what Los Angeles has done which allows only small -size dispensaries of people who know and depend on one another to get together and cultivate and provide marijuana products to qualified patients who need them. When Chair Abero asked where a pharmaceutical company coming to San Leandro would be permitted to locate, Planner Barros said that the larger set of Zoning Code amendments staff is working on will propose including retail sales with an Administrative Review in industrial zoning districts. Chair Abero said she’s comparing the dispensary and its preparation of medical marijuana products to a pharmaceuti cal company’s preparation of an antibiotic. If it were a manufacturing operation, Planner Barros said it would be permitted outright in the industrial districts, but not in the CC District. Commissioner Leichner asked whether manufacturing and dispensary functions could be decoupled, so a manufacturing plant might operate with no onsite distribution or sales. Mr. Pio Roda said that ’s probably possible, if the dispensary operator chose not to manufacture anything at all, but the City Council made a conscious decision to allow edibles and several types of medical marijuana products. Thus, Commissioner Leichner asked whether the sales floorplate could be limited while the space for manufacturing be unlimited to capture the “new economy” of marijuana. Planner Barros said it could. Commissioner Hernandez asked what happens next if the Planning Commission does not recommend approval of the proposed resolution to the City Council. Secretary Liao said the Planning Commission’s decision would be forwarded to the City Council as a denial of the staff recommendation. The City Council would take Planning Commission input into account, but it would have the final say. Motion to: A) Amend Resolution 2014-1 to include language that expressly and explicitly prohibits onsite growing and cultivation of marijuana in Medical Marijuana Dispensaries; B) Approve Resolution No. 2014-1 as amended, Recommending that the City Council Adopt an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Code to Add Regulations to Article 3, Section 1-304 Definitions; Article 6, Section 2-606 CC Districts – Use Regulations; Article 7, Sections 2-706 IG District – Use Regulations, 2-708 IP District –- Use Regulations, and 2-712 IG(AU) District – Use Regulations; and Article 17, Section 4-1704 Off-Street Parking and Loading Spaces Required, Related to Medical Marijuana Dispensaries; and C) Adopt the findings that this project is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act