Special City Council Meeting on Proposed Medical Marijuana Ordinance

The community is invited to attend a special meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, and provide comments regarding a proposed medical marijuana ordinance. The meeting will be held at the Senior Community Center, 13909 East 14th Street, at 7 p.m. The majority of the meeting will be devoted to receiving public comments.

Medical marijuana has been a widely debated and challenging issue in cities statewide. The City Council is interested in hearing the community's feedback on the proposed ordinance.

In November 2010, the City Council approved a one year moratorium on the establishment and operation of medical marijuana facilities and dispensaries. In 2011, the City Council approved an additional one year extension of the moratorium.

The moratorium effectively ended on September 30, 2012, because State law sets a two year limit. Since that time, the City Council and staff have publicly discussed options including allowing a limited number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City. Last December staff presented a draft Medical Marijuana Ordinance for City Council review and comment which would allow for no more than two medical marijuana dispensaries.

The proposed ordinance also contains restrictions on the location and operations of dispensaries. Notable restrictions include limiting the allowable number of dispensaries to two, requiring a Board of Zoning Adjustments conditional use permit approval, locating them only in industrial and commercial zoning districts, and requiring certain security measures. In addition, the dispensaries cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school, library, youth center, park, recreation facility, or another dispensary, or within 500 feet of a residential zone. 

At the February 12 special meeting, City staff will describe the proposed ordinance, amendments to the Zoning Code and next steps in the public review process, which will include hearings by the Board of Zoning Adjustments and Planning Commission. The City Council expects to review the final version of the medical marijuana ordinance in late spring 2013.

The proposed ordinance and a related staff report can be viewed online:
http://www.sanleandro.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=13119.

For more information, including whether you will need translation services or require any handicapped accessibility accommodations for the February 12th meeting, please call the City Manager’s Office at (510) 577-3351.