By Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer
In a unanimous vote during its Tuesday night meeting, the Signal Hill City Council extended its moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries by 10 months and 15 days. The moratorium was put into effect on July 7, but was only in effect for 45 days. The extension means that it will be in effect until July 2010.
“The purpose of this extension is to give us time to look at possible zoning amendment strategies,” said City Manager Ken Farfsing.
Planning Manager Scott Charney reminded the council that preliminary research on dispensaries showed that there were potential negative impacts associated with such facilities. Those impacts include an increase in burglary, robbery and loitering; public marijuana use around the dispensaries; an increase in marijuana DUIs; the illegal resale of marijuana to individuals without physician recommendations; street dealers attempting to sell marijuana to dispensary customers; and an increase in the sale of illegal drugs within the vicinity of the dispensaries.
Charney, however, acknowledged that there are a significant number of people who view the dispensaries as a valid medical option for patients suffering from a variety of diseases. He stressed that public opinion on the dispensaries was polarized and the city staff needed more than 45 days to weigh the pros and cons of permitting such facilities in Signal Hill.
“The starting point of this conversation has to be land use law,” he said, explaining that because marijuana dispensaries are not mentioned in the city’s zoning ordinance, they are not allowed to operate in Signal Hill. Charney noted that two dispensaries had been operating illegally in the city for some time and staff had sent code enforcement letters to each of them. Soon after that, one of the dispensaries suspended operations, but the other one– located on Pacific Coast Highway– is still open.
After Charney’s report to the council, Stephen Fisch, the attorney representing the dispensary that closed, spoke against extending the moratorium for 10 and a half months. “I know that this council is concerned about the adverse secondary impacts of the dispensaries,” he said, insisting that strictly regulating the facilities could prevent the adverse effects. Fisch told the council that the city could prohibit loitering in the vicinity of the dispensaries and require operators to hire private security guards to prevent crime in the area.
“It really becomes an issue of what is good business,” said Rob Wagner, another advocate of the dispensaries. He explained that Signal Hill could collect significant revenues by allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate within the city’s boundaries.
After Wagner’s presentation, Councilman Larry Forester insisted that city staff needed the 10 months and 15 days to thoroughly study the matter. “I will tell you point blank that I am in favor of its [medical marijuana] use, but I am also in favor of the moratorium,” he said.
Councilman Ed Wilson agreed, noting that the speakers urging strict regulations were actually giving the justification for the moratorium. “If you’re going to do this, you need to study it,” he said. “You need to do it right.”
In 1996, California voters passed an initiative that decriminalized the possession and sale of marijuana done through a non-profit collective that serves patients who have received a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana for medical reasons. In recent months, the number of medical marijuana dispensaries has increased dramatically, and as a result many cities throughout the state are grappling with how to regulate them.
