Arcata planners to move forward with dispensary guidelines

Arcata planners to move forward with dispensary guidelines

Donna Tam/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 09/22/2008 01:22:55 AM PDT

The Arcata Planning Commission plans to finally move forward with its draft
of medical marijuana dispensary guidelines on Tuesday.

After months of deliberating on the language of the dispensary guidelines,
aimed at imposing restrictions on how dispensaries operate in hopes of
curbing Proposition 215 card abuse, the commission was delayed by the
release of state guidelines late last month.

The commission had decided that it needed more time to evaluate the Office
of the Attorney General's guidelines since several definitions were lacking
from Arcata's current draft code.

Community Development Director Larry Oetker said staff was able to review
the state guidelines and revise Arcata's draft guidelines to bring them up
to compliance. He said the commission can now move the guidelines forward to
the Arcata City Council, and begin to tackle the next big issue -- a state
mandate to create zoning for emergency shelters and find a new location for
the Arcata Service Center.

"We want to manage one major project at a time," Oetker said. The dispensary
guidelines will be an amendment to the recently approved land use codes.

To read staff reports and the draft medical marijuana land use standards, go
to www.cityofarcata.org, click on "Agendas," and proceed to the commission's
Sept. 23 agenda.

BOX:

If You Go:

What: Arcata Planning Commission meeting

Where: Council Chambers, City Hall, 736 F St.

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Donna Tam can be reached at 441-0532 or dtam@times-standard.com.