Pubdate: Tue, 09 Feb 2010
Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2010 San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Contact: http://www.sgvtribune.com/writealetter
Website: http://www.sgvtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3725
Author: James Wagner

NINE POT DISPENSARIES TO SEEK GREEN PASTURES IN LA PUENTE

LA PUENTE - The city has approved nine business  licenses for medical 
marijuana dispensaries, despite a  proposed city ordinance that caps 
the number at six.

One city official said La Puente's strict code, which  goes into 
effect Friday, will force out dispensaries  that can't keep up with 
the city's numerous building,  health and safety rules.

"The filters were set in place that the people have to  be ready, 
professional and legitimate," said Mayor  Louie Lujan, who noted the 
city was expecting a  last-minute rush of applicants. "The system 
will weed  out those that shouldn't be operating."

Simply put, a business license isn't enough to operate,  he said.

As of Tuesday, La Puente has approved nine licenses and  three 
applications are pending, according to city  planner Guillermo Arreola.

That's more than any other city in the San Gabriel Valley.

Ever since the ordinance was crafted in December,  future dispensary 
owners rushed to open up shop.

Last month, La Puente capped the number of dispensaries  at six 
because five applications had been approved and  one was pending.

Since then, a second rash of applicants came forward.

Last week, the city had only six approved dispensaries  and five 
applications awaited a sign-off from City  Hall.

At least three of the approved dispensaries are open,  owners said.

"I'm disappointed in the fact that we attempted to have  an ordinance 
that closed the  hatch on this and limited it," Councilman David 
Argudo  said. "However, that ordinance did not kick into 
effect  until Friday, therefore we're stuck with this due to  poor planning."

Argudo said that for a city of La Puente's size,  3.2-square miles, 
six dispensaries is excessive.

It is unclear how the city will handle nearly a dozen  dispensaries 
when the proposed ordinance requires that  "no more than six medical 
marijuana cooperatives or  collectives shall be permitted to operate 
in the City  at any one time."

Deputy City Attorney Ellin Davtyan, who handles the  medical 
marijuana regulations, didn't return a call  Tuesday for comment.

If all the approved dispensaries meet the necessary  building and 
safety requirements, the city would  evaluate them on a case-by-case 
basis, Lujan said.

Lujan, who said he doesn't believe all the dispensaries  would 
eventually open, noted that it would be "survival  of the fittest."

The city has yet to make the the approved and pending  applications 
available for review.

City Clerk Amy Turner said Tuesday it could take days  to redact 
personal information from the applications.

Citing sections of the California Public Records Act  and case law, 
City Attorney Rick Olivarez said the city  isn't required to provide 
the applications right away  because they contain "sensitive information."

One legal expert said the city efforts to make the  applications 
public should last only a "couple days."

"There may be some confidential financial information,  bank accounts 
and social security numbers, but that  shouldn't take long," said 
Peter Scheer, the executive  director executive director of the First 
Amendment  Coalition, a San Rafael-based nonprofit public interest 
group. "Those applications are standard and they should  be pretty 
straight forward."

Scott Noelte, one of the four people who runs the Green  Comfort 
Collective on Fairgrove Avenue, said he didn't  understand what the 
city was doing by allowing nine  dispensaries.

"I thought that having a limit was good," Noelte said.  "But stick to 
that limit. These things are not by  definition bad, but having one 
on every block is."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart