Signal Tribune Newspaper

BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer

Medical marijuana dispensaries have been banned from the city of Signal Hill. The temporary ban will be in effect for 45 days but may be replaced by a permanent ordinance prohibiting that type of facility in city limits. The Signal Hill City Council unanimously approved the moratorium during its July 7 meeting.
The moratorium, adopted as an emergency ordinance, was the city’s response to a medical marijuana dispensary that recently opened near the corner of Gladys Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. The owners of the facility did not get a business license and did not notify city officials of their plans to distribute the controlled substance.
“As you know, staff rarely recommends moratoriums, but medical marijuana dispensaries are not a permitted use in the city of Signal Hill,” said City Manager Ken Farfsing. He told the council that there are many public safety issues related to such facilities and those issues need to be addressed before the city decides to either allow such dispensaries to operate or permanently ban them.
Scott Charney, the city planning manager, told the council that staff research revealed that cities that permit marijuana dispensaries to operate experience the following problems: an increase in crimes such as burglary, robbery and loitering in the vicinity of the dispensaries; the public use of marijuana on the streets and sidewalks near the dispensaries; an increase in marijuana DUI citations; street dealers competing with the dispensaries for customers; and an increase in the sales of other illegal drugs in the vicinity of the dispensaries.
In addition to describing the problems, Charney said: “We emphasize that that use is not specifically permitted (in Signal Hill).”
City Attorney David Aleshire noted that the city found out about the dispensary in a roundabout way. “Somebody who was trying to find the business asked a Signal Hill police officer if he knew where it was,” Aleshire said. “When we found out about it, we informed [the dispensary's owner] that the use is not permitted in the city, but told them they could apply for a zoning ordinance amendment.”
Aleshire added that the owner then applied for a business license, but the city refused to grant it because such facilities are not specifically permitted under the city’s zoning ordinance. The city attorney also explained that once the 45-day moratorium expires, it could be replaced by a 10–and-one-half-month moratorium, which can then be replaced by a one-year moratorium.
He told the council that staff must have ample time to research the matter. He explained that it is possible that staff could find conditions and locations within the city that would make such dispensaries acceptable.
“Other than sending letters, we have not done anything to close the business down,” Aleshire said. He added that if the moratorium is adopted and the owner still refuses to close the dispensary, the city will initiate legal action to close it.
In 1996, California voters approved an initiative making medical marijuana dispensaries legal in the state with the requirement that users get doctor authorization to buy the substance from the dispensaries. The state law is at odds with federal law, and several cities have also fought vigorously to prohibit such facilities within their boundary lines.
During the public-comment period, William Britt, executive director of the Association of Patient Advocates, told the council that there are thousands of people suffering from serious maladies who have been greatly helped by the dispensaries. He added that many cities have found ways to regulate the dispensaries to eliminate the problems that Charney discussed. “In some cities, crime has actually gone down because the patients no longer have to go to illegal drug dealers,” he said, adding that he approved of the city’s spending time to discover how to effectively regulate the dispensaries. “This is the right way to do it,” he said. “I thank you on behalf of the patients.”
Councilman Mike Noll said he was very displeased by the fact that the owner of the dispensary did not even inform the city of its existence. He added that he had a general mistrust of such facilities. “When I was campaigning this year, I had a lot of complaints from our residents in the north end about a dispensary on Wardlow and Orange, just north of our city limits,” he said.
The other councilmembers agreed that the issue had to be scrutinized carefully before a permanent decision is made.
The next meeting of the Signal Hill City Council is scheduled for 7pm, July 21 in the council chambers of Signal Hill City Hall.