The Colusa Planning Commission last week again continued the public hearing on a possible new cannabis ordinance that could possibly allow marijuana dispensaries in the industrial park south of town.
The majority of the Planning Commission has been vocal against allowing the retail sale of marijuana anywhere in town, but said they feared the Colusa City Council would overrule any effort by them to ban dispensaries outright.
The Planning Commission plans to take the issue up again at their January meeting, while directing Community Development Director Bryan Stice to incorporate language into the ordinance that would allow the city to consider marijuana dispensaries on property zoned industrial, but apply an additional layer of standards (overlay zone) to industrial areas in the “downtown core” that would prohibit retail shops.
Stice said he has largely been updating the ordinance to incorporate the new California standards and definitions.
“I still need a couple more weeks on this,” Stice said.
Vice-Chairman Richard Selover said few have spoken in favor of retail marijuana, except for those who are looking to be involved in the business, and that the city has received a petition from downtown business owners who have asked the city to reject any ordinance that allows it.
“Public opinion is…we don’t want dispensaries…,” Selover said. “And I’m getting it from all walks of life.”
Selover said the individuals he has questioned did concede that if the city were to allow for retail dispensaries, the only acceptable location to them would be in the industrial park.
“It’s pretty much not acceptable in any of our commercial districts,” Selover said.
Commissioner Dick Armocido agreed, and said the only concession to allowing retail that he has heard from people and that he would consider is Colusa Industrial Properties.
“It’s an agricultural area, and if you are going to have a dispensary, it has to be out there or we don’t have one,” Armocido said.
Armocido said having retail storefronts accessible to where youth could see them as they ride their bikes or walk downtown, sets the wrong example.
Commissioner Ryan Codorniz said the city could have a dispensary but control the visual appearance, so they would not stand out any more than the city’s manufacturing and delivery businesses that already exist downtown.
“We don’t have to have a dispensary where people know it’s a dispensary,” Codorniz said. “It doesn’t have to have signage. A lot of cities allow that. Most of our delivery services, you wouldn’t know it was a business.”
Codorniz said he took a trip to the Marysville dispensary to get an idea of how a retail store might operate in Colusa, and was quite surprised at the operation and appearance of the business.
Codorniz said the dispensary was clean and that he saw no one out of the ordinary enter or leave, and no derelict people lurking about outside.
“It really opened my eyes,” said Codorniz, who believes the city should treat cannabis the same as they do alcohol.
While city officials said they need more time to work on the ordinance, City Manager Jesse Cain said he would take whatever the Planning Commission decides to the City Council.
Cain said he would likely toss out the results of the informal survey the City previously released to gauge the public’s opinion, as the city did not implement proper controls for anonymous responses to avoid duplication.
Selover said a largely favorable survey response to open marijuana dispensaries does not accurately reflect what the general public has relayed to the Planning Commission.
“I usually get a hard no,” he said.
The next hearing on the cannabis ordinance will be held at 7 PM in January. ■