Pubdate: Mon, 31 May 2010
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Bay Area News Group
Contact:  http://www.contracostatimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/96
Author: Diana Samuels

MOUNTAIN VIEW DEVELOPING MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

The city of Mountain View is poised to take a hard line  in its
governance of medical marijuana dispensaries.

At a study session tonight, the city council will  discuss lifting a
citywide ban on pot clubs and  replacing it with rules that are strict
in comparison  to other jurisdictions. Coincidentally, the session
comes a day before city officials are scheduled to go  to court to try
and shut down Buddy's Cannabis  Collective, a dispensary that opened
in April despite  the ban.

Deputy City Attorney Nicole Clemens wrote in a report  to the council
that most cities limit dispensaries to  sites that are at least 500 to
1,000 feet away from  "sensitive uses," including schools, day cares
and  churches. Clemens is recommending Mountain View err on  the
restrictive side, only permitting pot clubs in  locations that are at
least 1,000 feet from those uses  as well as residences.

"Maps show a 500-foot requirement could allow  collectives and
cooperatives in many areas of the city,  while the 1,000-foot
requirement would limit  collectives and cooperatives to a few
locations,"  Clemens wrote in her report.

Clemens is also recommending that the regulations be  applied to any
dispensary with two or more patients,  while some cities allow for
smaller collectives to go  unregulated.

Dispensaries would be required to apply annually for a  "conditional
use permit," which could require them to  submit site plans, a
statement from the landlord  consenting to the dispensary, and other
information.

Clemens' report also describes local crimes linked to  pot. Mountain
View saw a 396-percent increase in  marijuana-related arrests between
2005 and 2009,  according to the report. Recent crimes in Mountain
View  include a robbery on March 30 when two people were  arrested for
stealing a quarter-ounce of marijuana. In  February, a St. Francis
High School student allegedly  had 23 marijuana lollipops and admitted
selling them to  other students. And on May 20, a dispensary in San
Jose  was robbed by four people, one of whom had a shotgun.  They held
employees and clients at gunpoint and stole  marijuana and money,
Clemens wrote in her report.

Brian David, who hopes to open a pot club called the  "Shoreline
Wellness Collective," said dispensaries  won't lead to more crime.

"The incidents that they listed all can be avoided  through proper
security," he said.

Most of the city's proposed regulations are "fine," he  said, though
he worried the limits on location are too  restrictive, particularly
since dispensaries would have  to be 1,000 feet from homes. David has
been considering  a location at Middlefield Road and Old Middlefield
Way,  but it wouldn't be allowed under the proposed
regulations.

"I think it would work because there's not going to be  any signs on
the side saying, 'Hey, marijuana sold  here,' anything like that,"
David said. "The only thing  that will be on the building is our name,
and if you  don't know what you're doing there, you shouldn't be  there."

Matt Lucero, who runs Buddy's, said the city should  work to craft an
ordinance that is "legally  enforceable" and "reasonable."

"I think they should put reasonable limitations on the  number (of
dispensaries), on the locations, and have  some appropriate safeguards
in place, probably set and  monitored by the local police department,"
Lucero said.

He said he believes Mountain View can support two or  three
dispensaries. In the meantime, he's preparing for  the Santa Clara
County Superior Court hearing Wednesday  morning, when city attorney
Jannie Quinn will seek a  preliminary injunction to shut down his
collective.  Quinn has declined to comment on the case.

Lucero said if the court closes his dispensary, he will  simply open
another one elsewhere. He says he has more  than 600 clients.

"We're going to keep operating," Lucero said. "We're  going to
dominate whatever market we stay in. I just  think Mountain View
residents are going to be really  screwed."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The Mountain View City Council will hold a study  session on
medical marijuana regulations.

WHEN: Today, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall, 500 Castro St.,  Mountain View

MORE INFO: www.mountainview.gov 
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