Pubdate: Thu, 13 Feb 2014
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2014 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Jane Ann Morrison

PLANNING BOARD FAILS TO DECIDE POT ISSUES

City Council to Receive Recommendations Only

At a contentious meeting Tuesday night, with three members 
abstaining, the Las Vegas Planning Commission failed to send firm 
decisions on zoning issues regarding medical marijuana to the City Council.

There were 14 separate votes, but the primary issue is what the 
distance separating medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivation and 
production sites need to be when it comes to schools, churches, day 
cares and residential areas. Local governments have the right to make 
them tougher than the state standards, but not less restrictive.

Supporters of medical marijuana want the distances to match the state 
standards. Opponents want to set tougher standards, which would make 
it more difficult to find sites to set up business in the city.

Several attorneys, including Ed Bernstein and Bruce Gale, urged the 
seven commissioners to go with the least restrictive standards the 
state will allow.

Voters approved medical marijuana in 2000, but it took until the 2013 
state Legislature to create a procedure to operate a medical 
marijuana establishment. Local governments in Clark County can decide 
whether they want these businesses in the cities or county and 
establish zoning and business license standards. Operations are 
expected to start in April.

Planning Commissioner Trinity Schlottman, appointed by Councilman Bob 
Coffin, a medical marijuana advocate, tried to convince other 
commissioners that the least restrictive standards were the best options.

But with the abstentions, he had trouble getting the four votes 
needed to pass a motion. Instead, most of the commission's votes will 
go to the City Council as simply recommendations. Basically, most of 
the votes left the decision in the hands of the elected officials.

Schlottman, clearly frustrated by the 14 split votes during the 
discussion of how far a dispensary, production or cultivation center 
should be from churches and houses of worship, burst out that "the 
state has already put a lot of thought into this. For us to go in and 
say it should be 1,000 feet (instead of 300), we might as well just 
say we don't want these in our town."

He persuaded Commission Chairman Gus Flangas and Commissioner Dick 
Bonar to stick with the 300-foot distance from churches but not 
Commissioner Vicki Quinn, who voted against it.

She had her own outburst, saying, "I don't want Ward 1 (Lois 
Tarkanian's ward) to end up as a pot ward. I don't want these piled 
up on Industrial Road and Highland Avenue."

Quinn was surprised that the planning staff was recommending that at 
the start only three sites be granted licenses, when 10 would be 
allowed by the state within city limits. She favored more restrictive 
standards.

Two commissioners - Bonar and Flangas - debated whether the standards 
were a move toward legalizing recreational marijuana. The 
finger-wagging Bonar said that "the audience deserves a reprimand to 
think this is already for recreational use," he said. "We're talking 
medical marijuana here, period."

Flangas said he was bothered by that facade. "I think this is an 
intermediate step to go toward Colorado (legalizing recreational 
pot)." He added, "I'm not in favor of marijuana, but the law is the law."

They debated different distances for different issues, but because 
the commission is merely an advisory body, the council will make the 
final decisions on whether dispensaries, cultivation and production 
facilities will be 300 or 1,000 feet or some other distance from 
schools, churches and day cares.

The City Council had hoped that planning commissioners would approve 
or deny certain distances. But the commission didn't do that, leaving 
investors still uncertain as they search for sites in the city limits 
to operate.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom