This section applies only to medical marijuana dispensaries when proposed in the commercial retail or commercial service land use categories and outside of the Central Business District (CBD). Other general retail uses are subject to the land use permit required by Section 22.06.030 (Table 2-2). A medical marijuana dispensary is defined as a facility where marijuana is made available for medical purposes in accordance with Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 (Proposition 215).
A. Purpose. The voters of the state of California affirmed the medical use of marijuana by voting for Proposition 215 (codified as Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5). The intent of this proposition was to give persons who are in need of medical of marijuana the ability to obtain and use it without fear of criminal prosecution. The specific purpose of this section is to set standards for this use consistent with neighborhood concerns.
B. Permit Requirements. Minor use permit approval is required in order to establish a medical marijuana dispensary.
C. Design and Operational Standards.
1. Location. Medical marijuana dispensaries shall be located outside of the CBD, a minimum of one thousand feet from any pre-school, elementary school, high school, library, park, playground, recreation or youth center. Distance shall be measured from the building which contains the medical marijuana dispensary to the property line of the enumerated use using a direct straight line measurement.
2. Limitation on Use.
a. Hours of operation are limited to eleven a.m. to six p.m., seven days per week.
b. No person under the age of eighteen shall be permitted in the dispensary at any time except in the presence of his/her parent or guardian.
c. No retail sales of paraphernalia as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 11364.5 are permitted at the dispensary.
d. No cultivation of medical marijuana is permitted at the dispensary or on dispensary property.
3. Employees. All staff/employees employed by the medical marijuana dispensary must be twenty-one years of age or older.
4. Security Plan. A security plan shall be submitted with the minor use permit application that includes lighting, security video cameras, alarm systems and secure area for medical marijuana storage. The security plan shall include a requirement that there be at least thirty business days of surveillance video that captures both inside and outside images on an on-going basis. The video system for the security cameras must be located in a locked, tamper-proof compartment.
5. Displayed Notice. Each dispensary, inside of the dispensary itself, shall display in a manner legible and visible to its clientele:
a. Notice that persons under the age of eighteen are not allowed in the dispensary except in the presence of his/her parent or guardian;
b. Notice that there is no consumption of medical marijuana in the vicinity of the dispensary.
6. Sheriff Notification. A condition to establishment of a medical marijuana dispensary shall be notification to the sheriff’s department informing it of the name, location and contact information for the owner/operator of the dispensary. (Ord. 3114 § 2, 2007)