Pubdate: Thu, 25 Aug 2011
Source: Santa Barbara Independent, The (CA)
Copyright: 2011 The Santa Barbara Independent, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.independent.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4348
Author: Ethan Stewart
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries

COUNTY STARTS POT RULES VISION QUEST

Staffers Select Only Seven Potential Storefront Sites

With the county's two-year moratorium on new medical marijuana 
storefronts soon to expire, Planning and Development staffers held a 
public workshop this week to unveil their current zoning proposal for 
where exactly any would-be cannabis club storefronts could open in 
the future. Interestingly enough, despite the lawsuit-filled 
controversy that followed the City of Santa Barbara during and after 
its efforts to craft a similar policy in recent years, the county's 
workshop late Monday afternoon featured an audience of only three 
(this reporter included) and virtually zero public input.

Specifically, the proposal - which, up until this point, was cobbled 
together after input from the Sheriff's Department, Environmental 
Health, County Counsel, and others - calls for dispensary storefronts 
to be allowed only in areas already zoned for general commercial 
business that have a minimum buffer of 1,000 feet between them and 
any school, park, or daycare center. Further buffer requirements 
include a 300-foot minimum from any residential zone, a 100-foot 
minimum distance from any legal dwelling, and a 1,500-foot minimum 
between any club and any other cannabis storefront. According to 
county staff, after running these requirements through current maps, 
only seven potential sites exist within the county, including spots 
in Vandenberg Village, eastern Goleta, the unincorporated west end of 
Santa Barbara, New Cuyama, and Orcutt. As for existing clubs that 
predate the moratorium, there is no proposed "grandfather" language, 
and, as such, each store! front will have to apply for legal 
nonconforming status on an individual basis with county planners.

The matter is scheduled for further discussion and a possible vote at 
the County Planning Commission on September 7.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom