The Medical Marijuana Task Force voted on the permitting process required for dispensaries at its Oct. 30 meeting, and will send its recommendation to City Council for consideration in January. The task force voted 9-2 to recommend a two-tiered permitting process that distinguishes between dispensaries with fewer than 100 members and dispensaries with more than 100 members. The smaller dispensaries will be required to go through a Process 2 review, which requires a neighborhood use permit (NUP) wherein the hearing officer must ensure that development “complies with all applicable regulations of the zone.” The hearing officer may also impose “reasonable conditions … as deemed necessary and desirable to protect the public health, safety and welfare,” according to the city’s municipal code in Chapter 12, Article 6. A Process 3 decision requires a more stringent conditional use permit (CUP), wherein the hearing officer determines on a case-by-case basis “whether and under what conditions the use may be approved at a given site.” “In granting a conditional use permit, the decision maker may impose reasonable conditions as deemed necessary and desirable to protect the public health, safety, and welfare including making any applicable use regulations or regulations of the zone more restrictive,” according to Chapter 12, Article 6 of the municipal code. Process 2 and 3 decisions both require public notification for the development, and allow the public to appeal the hearing officer’s decision to the Planning Commission. Steven Whitburn, vice-chair of the North Park Planning Committee, voted against the motion. He preferred that dispensaries located in industrial areas be subject to the least onerous review, Process 1, and that dispensaries located in neighborhoods go through a Process 4 review, which can be appealed to City Council. Whitburn believes the city may block any dispensary from opening under the NUP and CUP requirements because the hearing officer may find a medical marijuana dispensary is a detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the public. “You may get nothing if you don’t have a Process 1,” Whitburn said. Distance requirementsThe task force voted 7-4 to recommend that medical marijuana dispensaries not be located within 1,000 feet of a school, recreation center or youth facility. The majority of the task force agreed it would be too onerous for the collectives to open if the board included parks, playgrounds, libraries and religious institutions in the distance requirement. Whitburn pointed out that the Process 2 and 3 reviews would allow neighbors to weigh in on the suitability of a location close to parks, libraries and so on. The board voted 9-2 to prohibit dispensaries from locating within 500 feet of another cooperative to deter crime. However, Ocean Beach patient Larry Sweet argued it’s important for patients to have access to a number of dispensaries, which may offer a variety of marijuana strains that work on different types of ailments. Signage for dispensaries should be limited to the name, and imagery should be prohibited to prevent the drug culture appeal, voted the task force in a unanimous decision. Signs should be limited to two colors to curb psychedelic references. The storefront must also display a visible placard with the owner’s name and an emergency contact number, as well as a warning about the legality of medical marijuana and its potential effects on motor abilities, guidelines that Los Angeles County has adopted. The Medical Marijuana Task Force meets next on Friday, Nov. 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. on the 12th floor at City Hall, 202 C St. Public comment may be submitted to the board at [email protected]. To see the agenda, visit sandiego.gov/medicalmarijuana.