No more medical dispensaries can set up shop within city limits. In other matters, Rambla Pacifico emergency road construction put on hold.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The Malibu City Council on Monday approved an ordinance limiting the number of dispensaries in Malibu to two, with PCH Collective and Green Angel getting the first opportunity to apply for conditional-use permits to be the city’s two medical marijuana facilities.
There was no previous city law on marijuana dispensaries. The council was presented with two ordinance proposals on Monday, one to ban all medical marijuana facilities within Malibu, and the other to allow three dispensaries in the city. All council members said three would be too many.
“We have limited resources with our code enforcement and these are facilities that we are going to want to look at very closely and keep track of,” City Councilmember Sharon Barovsky said. “And with our resources, I would hate to see more than two.”
The ordinance must be approved on a second reading at an Aug. 11 meeting and then will go into effect 30 days afterward. A number of regulations were approved for the dispensaries, including buffers from schools and requirements for security. The businesses must obtain conditional-use permits to operate. The existing dispensaries have 90 days to apply for one without competition.
The council heard from several medical marijuana users and advocates prior to its vote. The speakers urged the council not to choose the option to ban the facilities. Steven Berkowitz, an attorney for PCH Collective, read a note from a neighbor praising the facility as not being a nuisance.
Kerry Fried, a medical marijuana user who has cancer, said PCH Collective is clean and safe.
“It is very safe and secure,” she said. “There are very normal people who go through there. I think there is a huge myth around medical marijuana that needs to be dispelled.”
Councilmember John Sibert spoke about two relatives with cancer who, when they were alive, could only be relieved of pain with marijuana.
Barovsky said, “I wish this were more closely regulated. I have a feeling prescriptions are being written for fun. But I also know there are cases of people who really need this.”
Judge issues restraining order on road permit
Also at the meeting, several Rambla Pacifico area residents spoke for and against an emergency coastal development permit issued July 11 for the construction of a road to connect Rambla Pacifico to Pacific Coast Highway. A group calling itself the Vista Hidalgo Neighborhood Association got a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order against the permit on July 15 until Aug. 11, when the judge will hear the case. The opponents claim the new road, which would only be allowed for use by emergency vehicles, would destabilize the Rambla Pacifico landslide.
“We do not oppose a safely constructed road,” said Tim Bartley, who said he spoke on behalf of Vista Hidalgo. “We support efforts to increase emergency access to the hillside. However, the need for emergency access needs to be balanced with the reality of geology in the area.”
There has not been an access road from Rambla Pacifico to the highway since a landslide in 1984 closed a portion of the road. Various legal disputes have prevented the road from being constructed since then.
“We’ve had a lot of opposition because of technical situations,” said David Kagon, a resident who has been a leader in trying to get an access road since the ’80s. “The problem we face here is not one of technical issues. It is what is in the best interest of Malibu … because what happened in ’93 [when two people were killed in a fire] is bound to happen again if we don’t do something about getting access to Pacific Coast Highway from Rambla Pacifico.”
The council members did not respond to the comments from the residents because of the pending lawsuit.
COUNCIL ACTIONS
– A memorandum of understanding with the county regarding the Malibu Library was approved. It includes the use of $2.6 million from the county to do interior and exterior improvements on the library.
-The council voted to
support Assembly Bill 2058, which calls for a 25-cent fee
on single-use plastic and paper bags.
– A consultant was hired to do the environmental impact review for the proposed Crummer property, which includes a donation of land to the city for a possible ball field.
– Councilmember Jefferson Wagner appointed Mark Wetton to the Parks and Recreation Commission.
– Councilmember Sharon Barovsky accepted the resignation of Michael Novotny from the Public Works Commission and named Paul Grisanti as an interim replacement.