Pubdate: Tue, 16 Nov 2010 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2010 Chico Enterprise-Record Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861 Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Author: Toni Scott, Staff Writer Cited: Chico City Council http://www.chico.ca.us/city_council/home_page.asp Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) MEDICAL POT, MARKET'S FATE BEFORE COUNCIL CHICO - On a full Chico City Council agenda, the main issues to be considered tonight include regulations on residential medical marijuana growing and dispensaries and a recommendation to terminate the agreement for the operation of the Thursday Night Market. For several months, the city has vetted the issue of medical marijuana. Tonight, the council is expected to take action on an ordinance that would allow for the distribution of medical marijuana in certain industrial and commercial areas in the city. A collective or cooperative would be required to obtain a permit to dispense medical marijuana, would have to submit a security plan and could not be located within 300 feet of a residential area or less than 1,000 feet from a school. The ordinance would also limit the size of outdoor residential marijuana grows and a city permit would be required to grow medical marijuana indoors. On the recommendation of the Internal Affairs Committee, the council will also consider terminating its franchise agreement with the Downtown Chico Business Association for the operation of the Thursday Night Market. The city has received repeated complaints from Hotel Diamond owner Wayne Cook about the closure of Fourth Street in front of his hotel during the Thursday Night Market. Additionally, several downtown businesses have expressed complaints about the market's impact to their business. In an effort to address those issues, the Internal Affairs Committee recommended that the council terminate the franchise agreement for the Thursday Night Market until a solution to the matter is found. A committee is expected to form to discuss the reshaping of the market. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake