PLEASANT HILL — In late August, the majority of the planning commissioners favored allowing retail sales of medical and recreational marijuana in Pleasant Hill, provided the stores were not near schools, day cares or parks.
Two weeks later, support had evaporated for what the city calls “adult-use” cannabis businesses.
Instead, the Planning Commission recommended allowing two medical marijuana shops to operate in retail business districts in Pleasant Hill with a conditional use permit and a state license. However, the stores could not locate within 1,000 feet of a school, park, youth center or daycare. Business owners also must minimize odors to avoid creating a “public nuisance.”
The proposed ordinance would repeal the city’s decade-long ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. If the City Council approves the measure, Pleasant Hill would be the first city in central Contra Costa County to allow brick-and-mortar cannabis retailers. Even without the commission’s recommendation, council members could decide to approve sales of recreational marijuana.
Steve Schramm, one of two planning commissioners who at the Aug. 29 meeting had opposed recreational marijuana stores, cited concerns about security, product quality and regulatory uncertainty.
“I just don’t think we’re ready for adult-use retail of cannabis products in Pleasant Hill,” Schramm said on Sept. 12, when the commission resumed its discussion of the draft ordinance.
“For now I think medical, given its situation and its history, is a better fit for Pleasant Hill than opening ourselves up to a new industry.”
The commission also agreed to allow home delivery, to restrict the size of the stores to a maximum of 10,000 square feet and to prohibit on-site consumption of cannabis or cannabis products.
Commissioner Bill Bankert voted against the resolution and urged the council to ban all marijuana sales.
“Pleasant Hill doesn’t have to go first,” he said. “We don’t need to be out in front of this; we can ban this, see how it shakes out and in a year or two make a better decision.”
In November, nearly 65 percent of Pleasant Hill voters supported Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana use for people 21 and older.
The law also allows adults to grow six marijuana plants inside a private residence for their personal use. However, municipalities may regulate or prohibit outdoor and commercial cultivation, as well as retail sales of marijuana products.
In June, the council asked the Planning Commission to recommend regulations related to the sale, delivery and commercial cultivation of marijuana.
Council members would like to have rules and, if necessary, a permitting process in place before January, when the state begins issuing licenses for marijuana-related businesses — including retailers, testing labs and commercial grow operations. The council is likely to consider the proposed ordinance next month.
Some residents urged the commission to respect the will of the voters and accept the burgeoning cannabis industry rather than cede future sales tax revenue to neighboring cities.
“There are financial benefits and there are public health benefits which I believe serves the heart of the community,” Terrance Dunn said.
But the Aug. 29 meeting also drew critics such as Bill Packwood, who said pot shops would lower property values and degrade quality of life.
credit:eastbaytimes.com