September 22, 2009
On July 28, 2009, the City Council directed the Ordinance Committee to review the Medical Cannabis Dispensary Ordinance, and to make recommendations to revise it. The Ordinance Committee met on September 15, 2009, and heard a staff presentation and public comment. The Ordinance Committee members did not have time to discuss the issue or give direction. The Ordinance Committee continued the item until Tuesday, September 29, 2009. The hearing will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Council Chambers, 735 Anacapa Street, Second Floor. If you would like to be on a notification email list, please send an email to Danny Kato at dkato@santabarbaraca.gov.
The Ordinance Committee Staff Report is available by following this link (OC Staff Report). The video of the 9/15/09 meeting is available by following this link (9/15 OC Video, then find the meeting of 9/15, and click on the word, “Video,” to the right). The PowerPoint from the staff presentation is available by following this link (9/15 OC PowerPoint).
There were items of interest submitted to the Ordinance Committee on 9/15. Links to some of those items are presented here:
1) 2009 White Paper on Medical Cannabis by the CA Police Chief’s Association Fact Sheet,
2) Medical Marijuana Facilities within the City of Los Angeles by LAPD (we think, the first 2 pages are missing)
3) Citizen Proposed MCDP Ordinance Amendments and Supporting Documentation, by a Coalition of Neighborhood Groups
4) Fortune Magazine article on Medical Cannabis
5) White Paper on Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries in the City of Santa Barbara, by Patrick Fourmy
Staff has created new maps, for discussion purposes. The Ordinance Committee Chairperson asked that the public review these maps, and give input as to where dispensaries SHOULD be allowed, rather than where dispensaries SHOULD NOT be allowed.
Maps showing 500’ radius from schools and parks:
1) Citywide
2) Downtown
3) Downtown showing prohibition in El Pueblo Viejo and Brinkerhoff Districts
4) Downtown showing prohibition within 500 feet of residential zones
5) Milpas
6) Mesa
7) Upper State
Maps showing 750’ radius from schools and parks:
1) Citywide
2) Downtown
3) Milpas
4) Mesa
5) Upper State
Maps showing 1000’ radius from schools and parks:
1) Citywide
2) Downtown
3) Milpas
4) Mesa
5) Upper State
Maps showing 1320’ radius (1/4 mile) from schools and parks:
1) Citywide
2) Downtown
3) Milpas
4) Mesa
5) Upper State
Maps showing 1700’ radius from schools and parks. The Citizen Proposed Ordinance Amendment included a prohibition of ½ mile walking distance from a number of land uses, like schools, parks, day care, pre-school, church, etc. We are not able to show an exact ½ mile walking distance, but that is at minimum, a 1700’ radius.
1) Citywide
2) Downtown
3) Milpas
4) Mesa
5) Upper State
-----------------------
July 3, 2008
The City of Santa Barbara adopted a Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ordinance on March 25, 2008, and it became effective on April 24, 2008.
The application packet is available by following this link (Application Packet), and you may start the application process.
As part of the application, you must prepare a document that shows how your dispensary complies with the operational requirements AND the criteria for approval in the Ordinance. For your convenience, the requirements and the criteria for approval are in this Medical Cannabis Dispensary Permit Application Document.
The application fee has not been established; however, in the interim, we will be charge the Planning Division’s hourly rate for processing time. Currently, the rate is $200.00/hr. We will collect a deposit of 10 hours times the hourly rate at the time of application intake, and charge hours against that amount. When the deposit runs out (and we anticipate that will), you will be asked to submit additional funds to continue with the application processing. Fees increase every July 1.
Staff recommends the following steps before beginning the application process:
1) Read the adopted Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ordinance
2) Find a location that meets the requirements of the Ordinance.
a) The following maps will help you find a spot:
i) Citywide map
ii) Downtown map
iii) Outer State Street map
iv) Milpas Street map
v) Mesa map
b) The schools on these maps are based on lists from the Santa Barbara County Education Office as of May 2008, and are most likely accurate; however, we recommend that you walk or bike an area that’s at least a one block radius of the proposed site to see if there are any private schools (K-12) in the area.
c) The maps only show the locations of the known Medical Cannabis Dispensaries as of the dates on the maps. We recommend that you walk or bike an area that’s at least one block radius of the proposed site to see if there are any other Medical Cannabis Dispensaries in the area.
The remaining steps are outlined in the application packet.
Please check back to this website for additional information.