[420 Girl]

CA - The city of San Carlos may not have anyone seeking to set up a medical marijuana dispensary in its borders, but it plans to be ready if it happens.

On Monday, the City Council is set to sign off on a set of regulations that lift a previous moratorium on dispensaries and impose restrictions on where and how they operate.

The ordinance only allows collectives to have 10 or less patients, be located in specific areas at least 1,000 feet away from schools, parks and recreation areas and not sell or dispense marijuana for cash or profit. The collectives cannot advertise marijuana, can only have its address on an outside sign or allow anyone under 18 without a parent or doctor.

The collectives must also obtain a use permit which can be revoked by the police chief for any violation of law or the ordinance conditions.

The council actually agreed to go forward with an ordinance at a meeting earlier this year but the decision came at the tail end of a marathon meeting on synthetic turf — timing that may have kept the conclusion from widespread dissemination, conceded Assistant City Manager Brian Moura.

Monday’s anticipated approval of the ordinance puts the earlier decision in motion.

The city has received no applications and even the last inquiry was several years ago, Moura said.

Regardless, he said, the city wanted to stop extending the temporary moratorium on dispensaries and get rules in place in the event interested parties come calling.

The decision to regulate rather than prohibit is in line with San Mateo County but a contrast with other Peninsula cities who are maintaining urgency ordinances and temporary moratoriums. The decision will have little financial implications for the city short of an increase in staff time by the police department which will manage the registration and permit process. Violators also risk misdemeanor charges.

Although the city is enacting regulations, City Manager Mark Weiss has said the city could later enact a moratorium if it deems it necessary, much as South San Francisco did after passing its regulations.

California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996. Senate Bill 420 clarified the law in 2004. In the time since, counties and cities have struggled with abiding by the law while keeping the collectives in check. San Bruno, South San Francisco and Redwood City have moratoriums and the county passed a slate of regulations for dispensaries but already-established locations have shut down because they fell within the 1,000-foot restriction around schools. The cities of Colma and San Mateo have also adopted ordinances regulating the collectives. Millbrae voted to ban dispensaries not based on zoning — the popular approach — but as part of the city’s health, safety and general welfare which would not subject the moratorium to a certain time frame.

Info box:

The San Carlos City Council meets 7 p.m. Monday, April 12 at City Hall, 600 Elm St., San Carlos.

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