Jacob Bell
New Member
Two of the three medical marijuana dispensaries red-tagged and closed on January 24 for municipal/building code violations appealed the city's actions at a six-hour hearing on February 4.
The hearing was presided over by retired Orange County Judge Jim Smith at City Hall Council Chambers.
Smith was approved to hear the case in a special meeting of the City Council held earlier the same day. The council had previously agreed that the appeals should be heard by an impartial third party in order to avoid the appearance of bias against the dispensaries.
Attorneys for Holistic Health and Beach Cities Collective said in the hearing that the city violated their clients' right to due process by not inspecting the shops before red-tagging and closing them down and alleged that the city's use of the municipal and building code was a tactic used to unfairly target medical marijuana collectives. They also argued that the city had been given opportunity to inspect their premises before the closures.
City officials argued that the closures were not related to the marijuana issue or the now 18-month legal volley between the city and the collectives and that in order to be inspected businesses must have a certificate of occupancy. Beach Cities was operating without one and Holistic Health's was revoked for incorrectly listing the type of business.
The city asked Smith to allow the collectives to reopen if they file the required certificate of occupancy and building permit forms. Because city zoning codes do not specifically mention collectives, the sale of marijuana is not a permitted business. A fact that Munoz said would be taken off the table for now since the issue is currently in process within the court system.
At the council meeting Munoz also announced the city was dropping the battle for the collectives' business records originally subpoenaed in order for the city to determine whether the dispensaries were operating according to California State law saying they're now unnecessary and only complicate the issue.
Smith's decision whether the businesses will be allowed to reopen is expected some time this week but had not yet been announced at press time.
Meeting agendas and staff reports can be found on the city website at City of Dana Point : Home.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: danapointtimes.com
Author: Andrea Swayne
Contact: Dana Point Times
Copyright: Dana Point
Website: Medical Marijuana Collectives Appeal Closures
The hearing was presided over by retired Orange County Judge Jim Smith at City Hall Council Chambers.
Smith was approved to hear the case in a special meeting of the City Council held earlier the same day. The council had previously agreed that the appeals should be heard by an impartial third party in order to avoid the appearance of bias against the dispensaries.
Attorneys for Holistic Health and Beach Cities Collective said in the hearing that the city violated their clients' right to due process by not inspecting the shops before red-tagging and closing them down and alleged that the city's use of the municipal and building code was a tactic used to unfairly target medical marijuana collectives. They also argued that the city had been given opportunity to inspect their premises before the closures.
City officials argued that the closures were not related to the marijuana issue or the now 18-month legal volley between the city and the collectives and that in order to be inspected businesses must have a certificate of occupancy. Beach Cities was operating without one and Holistic Health's was revoked for incorrectly listing the type of business.
The city asked Smith to allow the collectives to reopen if they file the required certificate of occupancy and building permit forms. Because city zoning codes do not specifically mention collectives, the sale of marijuana is not a permitted business. A fact that Munoz said would be taken off the table for now since the issue is currently in process within the court system.
At the council meeting Munoz also announced the city was dropping the battle for the collectives' business records originally subpoenaed in order for the city to determine whether the dispensaries were operating according to California State law saying they're now unnecessary and only complicate the issue.
Smith's decision whether the businesses will be allowed to reopen is expected some time this week but had not yet been announced at press time.
Meeting agendas and staff reports can be found on the city website at City of Dana Point : Home.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: danapointtimes.com
Author: Andrea Swayne
Contact: Dana Point Times
Copyright: Dana Point
Website: Medical Marijuana Collectives Appeal Closures
