Cannabis dispensary gets the final nod
The action was essentially a rubber stamp of an ordinance that was introduced earlier in the month.
PACIFIC GROVE >> Pacific Grove schools entered into the debate about opening a cannabis dispensary in the city with a resolution declaring the “health, safety and well-being” of kids will be affected, but on a split vote, elected city officials on Wednesday approved an ordinance that will allow a single cannabis store.
The City Council action was essentially a rubber stamp of the ordinance allowing for the store that was introduced earlier in the month. At that time, the council gave the go-ahead for the store, but directed city staff to make several changes before being brought back Wednesday for the final approval.
Originally it was proposed for two stores, but after a lively discussion at the Sept. 2 meeting, the council compromised on one store. Other updates included clear delineations of buffer zones around schools — 600 feet from any K-12 school.
The board of trustees for the Pacific Grove Unified School District on Tuesday passed a resolution opposing the store — technically opposing rescinding of the old ordinance that outlawed any cannabis stores.
“The Board objects to the disregard for the health, safety and well-being of Pacific Grove citizens, especially students, during a pandemic. … The board calls upon the Pacific Grove City Counsel (sic) to reevaluate this decision, and, at the very least, delay the implementation until the people of Pacific Grove may vote upon its merits or until this pandemic is behind the community,”
OROM PASL 1
the resolution read.
Ralph Porras, the superintendent of the school district, in an email Thursday elaborated on his and the board’s fears of the’s city decision. His first concern is a cannabis store will increase the availability of marijuana.
“Access to drugs and the deleterious effects they already have on students throughout the nation, and especially in the Peninsula, is well documented and has had the attention of educators for many years,” he wrote. “The challenges to address these current problems are already very great and have a tremendous impact on the school community.”
The term “health, safety and well-being” actually
comes from the city, and was used in an ordinance that outlawed cannabis stores in 2016.
In once sense, the community has already voted. In 2016 nearly seven in 10 Pacific Grove residents voted in favor of Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis for recreational use, according to the California Secretary of State’s office, which also reported that 62.5% of voters in Monterey County approved the legalization of cannabis.
Cannabis stores are legal and open for business in unincorporated Monterey County, Seaside, Del Rey Oaks, Salinas and will be in Marina, while Monterey council members voted to place it on a meeting agenda as soon as this month. Cannabis stores, like legal liquor stores, only sell to adults 21 years old or older.
In the ordinance approved Wednesday, City Manager
Ben Harvey mapped out buffer zones ensuring no cannabis store would be located at least 600 feet from schools, 200 feet from the Pacific Grove Youth Center and 100 feet from the Pacific Grove Community Center. The Pacific Grove police chief also has the option of naming other areas where buffer zones would be required.
Mayor Bill Peake, Councilman Joe Amelio and Councilwoman Jenny McAdams voted against the cannabis store, while Mayor Pro Tem Robert Huitt and council members Cynthia Garfield, Amy Tomlinson and Nick Smith voted to approve the ordinance.
When the ordinance received the go-ahead at the council’s last meeting, Garfield reminded council members that cannabis is legal and that sales were already taking place.
“The difference
is what
ZIP codes collect the fees,” she said.
Garfield addressed fears of colleagues by noting the store would be selected by a panel that included two council appointees, the community development director and the city manager. Any potential candidate for a cannabis store will be subject to a number of state and local restrictions before a license is issued.
As to comments from callers citing the dangers of driving after smoking cannabis, Garfield acknowledged that someone under the influence of cannabis is 183 times more at risk of being in a traffic collision.
“But someone under the influence of alcohol is 2,500 times more at risk of accidents,” she said. “Yet drinking is a normal part of everyday life.”