A moratorium will not stand in the way of establishing medical cannabis dispensaries in Dixon.
The City Council voted 3-2 in favor of an ordinance that would prohibit, for a time, establishing dispensaries for medical marijuana in the city. However, the ordinance needed a four-fifths vote, so it failed to pass.
Councilmen Michael Ceremello and Dane Besneatte dissented.
Dixon already has a medical marijuana dispensary ordinance, which was passed in 2004. With a use permit, the ordinance allows those types of dispensaries in the city within the zoning for professional and administrative offices.
However, the council was considering an ordinance for an urgency moratorium, suggesting that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare that would be alleviated by the moratorium.
Ceremello didn't agree that such a moratorium was necessary because, he said, there is no urgency and no public safety danger.
In a e-mail to The Reporter, he noted that Dixon already has an ordinance which the district attorney did not challenge during the last four years.
"There is sufficient time for an amendment to the ordinance to be crafted given the length of time it takes any project to get through our city permitting process," he wrote.
Mayor Jack Batchelor shared Thursday afternoon that the reason he voted in favor of the moratorium was to give city staff time to draft the amendments to the city's existing ordinance while
Batchelor said several people notified him of concerns they have about medical marijuana dispensaries.
"I wanted to make sure we had enough protection as we move ahead," he said. "What I believe about medical marijuana shouldn't be the issue. My job is to make sure the right ordinances are in place that protect the citizens of Dixon."
"A moratorium would have given us time," he added. "But that wasn't what the council decided."
Community Development Director Dave Dowswell explained in a staff report that Dixon has recently been contacted by a number of individuals wanting to know more about opening that type of dispensary business in the city.
City staff also recently met with Solano County District Attorney David Paulson to discuss Dixon's ordinance and how his office might handle any cases involving the dispensing of marijuana in the city.
Paulson, according to the staff report, shared concern due to recent guidelines issued by the state's attorney general, that Dixon's ordinance was not clear about the nature of a legal dispensary.
City staff considered and recommended approval of a moratorium to allow the city time to draft amendments to the ordinance.
City Manager Nancy Huston said even though a moratorium was not established, the city will still need to bring back amendments to its ordinance that would clear up definitions and be more specific about standards for the dispensaries.
Huston added that she's not sure when the issue will be before the council again.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Reporter
Author: Melissa Murphy
Contact: The Reporter
Copyright: 2009 The Reporter
Website: Vote Fails To Establish Pot Ordinance
The City Council voted 3-2 in favor of an ordinance that would prohibit, for a time, establishing dispensaries for medical marijuana in the city. However, the ordinance needed a four-fifths vote, so it failed to pass.
Councilmen Michael Ceremello and Dane Besneatte dissented.
Dixon already has a medical marijuana dispensary ordinance, which was passed in 2004. With a use permit, the ordinance allows those types of dispensaries in the city within the zoning for professional and administrative offices.
However, the council was considering an ordinance for an urgency moratorium, suggesting that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare that would be alleviated by the moratorium.
Ceremello didn't agree that such a moratorium was necessary because, he said, there is no urgency and no public safety danger.
In a e-mail to The Reporter, he noted that Dixon already has an ordinance which the district attorney did not challenge during the last four years.
"There is sufficient time for an amendment to the ordinance to be crafted given the length of time it takes any project to get through our city permitting process," he wrote.
Mayor Jack Batchelor shared Thursday afternoon that the reason he voted in favor of the moratorium was to give city staff time to draft the amendments to the city's existing ordinance while
Batchelor said several people notified him of concerns they have about medical marijuana dispensaries.
"I wanted to make sure we had enough protection as we move ahead," he said. "What I believe about medical marijuana shouldn't be the issue. My job is to make sure the right ordinances are in place that protect the citizens of Dixon."
"A moratorium would have given us time," he added. "But that wasn't what the council decided."
Community Development Director Dave Dowswell explained in a staff report that Dixon has recently been contacted by a number of individuals wanting to know more about opening that type of dispensary business in the city.
City staff also recently met with Solano County District Attorney David Paulson to discuss Dixon's ordinance and how his office might handle any cases involving the dispensing of marijuana in the city.
Paulson, according to the staff report, shared concern due to recent guidelines issued by the state's attorney general, that Dixon's ordinance was not clear about the nature of a legal dispensary.
City staff considered and recommended approval of a moratorium to allow the city time to draft amendments to the ordinance.
City Manager Nancy Huston said even though a moratorium was not established, the city will still need to bring back amendments to its ordinance that would clear up definitions and be more specific about standards for the dispensaries.
Huston added that she's not sure when the issue will be before the council again.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Reporter
Author: Melissa Murphy
Contact: The Reporter
Copyright: 2009 The Reporter
Website: Vote Fails To Establish Pot Ordinance
