[420 Girl]

California - The Shasta County Planning Commission will consider an ordinance for medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation on Thursday.

The proposed ordinance comes two months after the Shasta County Board of Supervisors rejected a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and instead directed the county staff to look at the issue and propose a zoning ordinance.

Richard Simon, assistant director of the county's Department of Resource Management, said options included a complete ban on dispensaries or regulation.

"Since there were a couple lawsuits pending concerning outright bans, they looked into ordinances that would regulate," he said.

The draft was based largely on other ordinances that had been adopted or proposed in other jurisdictions, he said. After the first draft was complete, it was circulated through the Shasta County Counsel's Office, the Sheriff's Office and the Public Health Department, he said.

Among the biggest concerns were the locations of the dispensaries and whether they should be allowed near schools, libraries or parks, he said.

To address the issue, planners identified different zoning districts for dispensaries.

"We have identified five different zoning districts that would accommodate that type of a use based on the notion of customers coming and going and hours of operation," he said. "It's basically limited to those areas where similar retail-type establishments are."

Dispensaries also would be subject to a use permit to be approved on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Another concern is how the cultivation of medical marijuana impacts neighborhoods and whether it should be regulated.

Supervisor Les Baugh said he often receives phone calls from people who live in neighborhoods where people are growing large amounts of marijuana.

"The problem is they have multiple people at the home who use so they can grow more," he said, adding that the problem is worse in smaller neighborhoods.

During the harvest season, the smells from the plants were sometimes so noxious that people said they couldn't stand to be in their own homes, he said.

Baugh said it is important to find a way to protect everyone's freedom, though he admitted he doesn't think there is one great answer to the problem.

"I have more questions than answers at this point," he said. "That'll work itself out at the meeting."

The proposed ordinance includes a provision requiring the applicant to provide written verification that each person participating in growing marijuana is a qualified patient or primary caregiver. It also states that cultivation may be undertaken only by a qualified patient who occupies the residence on the parcel proposed for cultivation.

Limits are placed on how large an outdoor marijuana garden can be, based on the size of the parcel and what rooms inside a house cannot be used to grow the plant. It also cannot be grown within 1,000 feet of a school, park, public library or youth facility, the ordinance states.

The ordinance also includes a warning that medical marijuana is still illegal under federal law and that the county will not accept any liability surrounding any permit approvals or subsequent cultivation of medical marijuana.

Shasta County Administrator Larry Lees said there have been so many recent legal decisions - with many still pending - that he believes the issue will be ongoing. He said if the ordinance is approved, it is likely to be changed many times as the laws change.

"It's a fluid and moving target because there are so many decisions causing changes," he said. "But I believe this is a good start to show we're trying to do something to maintain a level playing field."

The Planning Commission will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday at the board of supervisors chambers in the Shasta County Administration Center at 1450 Court Street, Room 263, in Redding.

If approved, the ordinance will go before the Shasta County Board of Supervisors for further review and final approval.


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