Public Hearings to be Held Regarding Medical Marijuana Disensaries

The City of Santa Monica is considering a plan to allow dispensaries as part of a new draft zoning ordinance. So a wave of medical marijuana dispensaries that have opened up throughout Los Angeles in recent years could soon be coming to the Westside.

The proposal included in the city’s November Zoning Ordinance Update (PDF) would allow no more than two medical marijuana shops no larger than 2,500 square feet in the city’s Healthcare District south of Wilshire Boulevard, which encompasses the UCLA Medical Center and Saint John’s Health Center.

Dispensaries would be prohibited within 500 feet of any day care facility, park, school or library, and must be at least 1,000 feet from any neighboring dispensary. They would only be allowed to operate between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Proprietors would also be required to submit a security plan for any dispensary, including “security staffing, alarms, and other elements”, according to the proposal.

The proposed draft zoning ordinance will undergo at least six public hearings before being put to a vote before the City Council perhaps as late as next spring, according to city officials.

Officials in Santa Monica decided to move forward with the plan after a state Supreme Court ruling in May (PDF) that gave cities flexibility in regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.

A city Planning Commission meeting was scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m.