California, Templeton

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Fri, May. 12, 2006

Templeton proposal dies for marijuana dispensary
Business withdraws application

Stephen Curran
scurran@thetribunenews.com
The San Louis Obispo Tribune

A potential showdown between Templeton residents and the owner of a proposed medical marijuana dispensary was averted Thursday, when the applicant withdrew his application.

Dylan Hyde, owner of the North County Resource Center, was scheduled to appear before the county Planning Commission on May 25 to try and convince the board to allow his cannabis co-op in a commercial services zone on Ramada Road.

His business, said Templeton Area Advisory Group Chairman Rob Rosales, had already ignited the furor of many residents who had planned to appear before the board to fight the application.

The application came less than two months after another proposed dispensary prompted the Atascadero City Council to craft an ordinance governing the business, which has since moved to Morro Bay.

The county, which has jurisdiction over unincorporated Templeton, is in the midst of creating its own guidelines.

-- Stephen Curran

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Templeton Pot Dispensary Still Up In The Air

The San Luis Obispo Tribune
Tue, 30 Oct 2007
by AnnMarie Cornejo


For the Second Time, County Planners Reach No Decision on the Ramada Drive Site in Templeton; Action on a Permit Is Postponed Until January

County planning commissioners on Monday failed again to reach a decision on a proposed medical marijuana dispensary in Templeton.

In July, the Planning Commission deadlocked 2-2 in a disagreement over exactly how far the dispensary--proposed for a Ramada Drive industrial park--would be from a park across Highway 101.

Before Monday's commission meeting, applicant Austen Connella asked that the decision on a permit for the proposed 1,450-square-foot cannabis co-op be delayed because all five commissioners couldn't be present.

Sarah Christie, who has voted in favor of the permit, was absent Monday. In the July deadlock, Commissioner Anne Wyatt was absent.

Since federal agents raided Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers in Morro Bay on March 29, the closest medical marijuana dispensaries to San Luis Obispo County are in Buellton and Santa Barbara.

Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon spoke against the proposal, arguing that "there is no valid use -- no good can come of this in our community or yours."

Solomon described problems at dispensaries in other areas and expressed concern that police could be diverted to deal with problems at a local outlet.

"I don't want to create another problem for my community," Solomon said.

California voters made medical use of marijuana legal in 1996 for patients with a doctor's recommendation when they approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.

That conflicts with federal law, which considers the drug illegal in any circumstance. Law enforcement agencies frequently oppose use of medical marijuana.

A county ordinance allows dispensaries in unincorporated inland areas such as Templeton but prohibits them from operating in a downtown business district or within 1,000 feet of any school, library, playground, park or youth recreation area.

Coastal zones of the county are excluded from the ordinance pending approval from the state Coastal Commission, which has the final authority on land-use laws in those areas.

A motion to postpone a decision at first deadlocked, with Commissioners Bob Roos and Eugene Mehlschau voting instead to deny the permit.

"This is not a general retail use -- it's got issues and we should disapprove it," said Roos, adding that the dispensary would go against the character of the neighborhood.

"I recognize our decision won't be final because it can be appealed and that it doesn't matter what we say," Roos said. "Why prolong it?"

However, when neither Commissioners Penny Rappa nor Anne Wyatt would budge, Roos voted to consider the permit again Jan. 10.

In earlier public hearings, some community leaders, including Templeton schools Superintendent Deborah Bowers, have argued that Connella's plan is a poor fit for the conservative town and that it would undermine the school district's anti-drug efforts.

At Monday's meeting, Rob Rosales of the Templeton Chamber of Commerce said that a new church is now in the same area as the proposed dispensary and that a day care center would likely be provided there.

Commissioners asked county planners to include information on the possible day care center in their next report.

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Fri, Jan. 11, 2008

Pot dispensary in Templeton gets the green light from county Planning Commission

The San Luis Obispo Tribune
Stephen Curran


It took nearly six months, but the county Planning Commission decided Thursday to allow a controversial medical marijuana dispensary to open in Templeton.

The 3-2 vote was the third attempt by commissioners to resolve the fate of the pro-posed North County Resource Center at 3850 Ramada Drive. The commission was deadlocked in July amid disagreement over whether the facility complied with a county ordinance that governs cannabis co-ops and postponed a decision again in October.

The verdict came as jurisdictions statewide remain uncertain about the legality of medical marijuana. The plant was approved for prescription use by California voters more than a decade ago but is prohibited under federal law.

About a dozen supporters addressed the commission, saying marijuana helped treat diseases including asthma, glaucoma and arthritis.

“Patients in our county must have safe, local means to get their medicine,” dispensary owner Austen Connella told commissioners. “… We would set an example as to how a dispensary can be a positive addition to San Luis Obispo County.”

Representatives for the Templeton Unified School District, Templeton Chamber of Commerce and Templeton Area Advisory Group told commissioners that the dispensary is a poor fit for the community.

Sheriff Pat Hedges, Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon and Atascadero police Chief Jim Mulhall also opposed, claiming such business-es invite drug-related crime.

“It’s not germane to the community,” chamber President Rob Rosales said of marijuana’s medicinal qualities. “I don’t think someone’s going to deny some 9-year-old terminally ill kid, but it goes to what the community wants.”

A county ordinance allows such facilities in unincorporated inland areas such as Templeton but prohibits them from operating in a downtown business district or within 1,000 feet of any school, library, playground, park or youth recreation area.

County planners initially told the commission the industrial park that would house the business was 1,004 feet from a park managed by the Templeton Oaks Homeowners Association.

But, when staffers measured a second time from the park’s closest boundary, they found it to be 925 feet from the planned dispensary. The park is across Highway 101 and would be about a mile drive from the dispensary.

Opponents have 14 days to appeal the commissioners’ decision to the county Board of Supervisors.

Commissioners Anne Wyatt, Penny Rappa and Sarah Christie voted in favor. Chairman Bob Roos, who lives in and represents Templeton, and Commissioner Eugene Mehlschau opposed.

[palmspringsbum]

Two appeals filed against Templeton pot dispensary approval

San Luis Obispo Tribune
January 30, 2008

A pair of appeals challenging a planned medical marijuana dispensary in Templeton has put the controversial project on hold until at least April.

Paso Robles Police Chief Lisa Solomon and Templeton resident David La Rue have sent letters asking the Board of Supervisors to revisit a county Planning Commission vote to allow the North County Resource Center to open at 3850 Ramada Drive.

The dispensary’s fate - which likely would have been resolved at the commission level had the appeals not been filed - is now expected to come before supervisors April 8, senior planner Bill Robeson said.

It took commissioners three tries over nearly six months to reach its Jan. 10 decision allowing the co-op. Members deadlocked in July amid disagreement over whether the facility complied with a county ordinance governing such facilities and postponed a decision again in October.

-Stephen Curran

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Thu, Jan. 31, 2008

Appeals stall plan for pot shop in Templeton

<span class=postbigbold>The dispensary’s fate will have to wait for a decision by supervisors April 8</span>

By Stephen Curran
<table class=posttable align=right width=256><tr><td class=postcell><ul class=postlist>
<li>Read the staff report from Thursday's meeting</li>

<li>Read the appeal</li>

<li>Read a letter from Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon opposing the dispensary</li></ul></td></tr></table>
A pair of appeals challenging a planned medical marijuana dispensary in Templeton has put the controversial project on hold until at least April.

Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon and Templeton resident David La Rue last week asked the Board of Supervisors to revisit a county Planning Commission vote to allow the North County Resource Center to open at 3850 Ramada Drive.

The appellants say the plan violates federal law and would increase crime in the rural area.

The Planning Commission would have had the final vote on the project, if not for the appeals to the supervisors.

The dispensary’s fate is now expected to come before supervisors April 8, senior county Planner Bill Robeson said.

It took commissioners three tries over nearly six months to reach a 3-2 decision allowing applicant Austen Connella to open the cannabis co-op.

Members deadlocked in July amid disagreement over whether the facility complied with a county ordinance governing such facilities and postponed a decision again in October.

Connella and his supporters have argued that the dispensary would provide patients suffering from a variety of ailments with needed medication.

Connella was not available for comment Wednesday. Kent Connella, owner of the Ramada Drive industrial park and Austen Connella’s father, said the facility would operate in a manner consistent with state law.

“If we can get through this appeal, then the patients will hopefully be able to get their medicine in a safe form,” Kent Connella said. “… The only argument these people (the appellants) have is a political argument.”

Medical marijuana dispensaries such as the one proposed in Templeton fall into a gray area between state and federal law.

California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. But federal law still prohibits such use.

In her letter to the county, Solomon repeated claims that such dispensaries have created more crime in other communities. She cited the March 2007 arrest of Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers owner Charles Lynch following charges he grew and sold cannabis for profit from his Morro Bay dispensary, which has since closed.

Supervisor Harry Ovitt, Sheriff Pat Hedges and Atascadero police Chief Jim Mulhall have also said they do not support a dispensary at the Templeton location.

“I strongly urge you to listen to your constituents and move to deny the establishment of this dispensary,” Solomon wrote. “To do otherwise violates federal law and places Paso Robles and Templeton citizens at risk.”

A county ordinance allows medical marijuana outlets in unincorporated inland areas, including Templeton, but restricts them from operating in a downtown business district or within 1,000 feet of any school, library, park or youth recreation area.

Planners initially told the commission that the dispensary’s proposed location was 1,004 feet from a park managed by the Templeton Oaks Homeowners Association. A second measurement from the park’s closest boundary found it was 925 feet from the planned dispensary.

However, the park is across Highway 101 and would be about a mile’s drive from the dispensary.

Kent Connella said his son chose the Templeton location because it was most consistent with the county guidelines.

“I’d be very surprised if (supervisors) voted against it,” he said. “They’re the ones who enacted the land-use ordinance, and they’d be going against their own parameters.”

Ovitt, whose district includes Templeton, said the business is a poor choice for that location.

“I didn’t say I agreed with the county in terms of their ordinance,” he said. “That kind of a facility is more for a larger urban area that can control it.”

Opponents had until Jan. 25 to appeal the commission’s decision.