Pubdate: Thu, 15 May 2014
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2014 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: James DeHaven
Page: 1B

PLANNING COMMISSIONERS OK POT REGULATIONS

Planning commissioners pushed North Las Vegas a step closer to a
medical marijuana ordinance Wednesday, unanimously approving new pot
planning regulations set for City Council approval next month.

Rules OK'd by commissioners this week put a few extra teeth into the
state's green rush land use restrictions, including having a 300-foot
proposed buffer zone between pot dispensaries and residential
developments.

They also pull quite a few teeth out of regulatory schemes recently
adopted in Las Vegas and Clark County, where pot dispensaries are
required to observe a 1,500foot setback between nonrestricted gaming
establishments and a 1,000-foot buffer between other pot production,
testing and cultivation facilities.

North Las Vegas planning manager Marc Jordan opted to drop similar
requirements at the last minute Wednesday, in part because they
threatened to freeze medical marijuana out of the city's redevelopment
district.

"We realized we had basically put a prohibition on the downtown area,"
Jordan said before this week's meeting.

"(Medical marijuana establishments) will still have to stay 1,500 feet
from the Cannery, the Aliante, the Fiesta Rancho - places which have a
hotel component. ... But if they want to be downtown by the Jerry's
Nugget, we want to make sure they can do that."

Commissioners also advanced North Las Vegas' bid to become the
region's pot cultivation capital, rallying around a provision to
greenlight grow houses without City Council approval.

An 11th-hour regulatory revision drafted by Jordan allows cultivation
facilities to move into APEX Industrial Park with a staff-approved
conditional use permit, saving businesses from a make-or-break City
Council vote on a special use application.

That amendment won accolades from multiple business owners and
residents in attendance.

It earned particularly rave reviews from North Las Vegas attorney and
medical marijuana consultant Bruce Gale, who applauded commissioners
flexibility on the issue.

"You guys did a great job, especially on the conditional use permit at
APEX," Gale said.

"You've got a new member in your fan club," he said.

City dispensaries will have to close by 10 p.m. - and won't be allowed
to operate a drive-thru window.

Planners indicated they also will make room for the partial
integration of cultivation and production facilities and won't require
medical pot shop owners to locate in a stand-alone building

North Las Vegas-bound pot entrepreneurs will have to cut a $5,000
check for city permits, a figure Jordan said is consistent with asking
prices in Las Vegas and Clark County.

Officials haven't settled on the amount to be charged for pot license
fees.

They expect to unveil that number alongside a draft medical marijuana
ordinance set for introduction June 4.

City Council members plan to take a final vote on the city's medical
marijuana rules on June 18.
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MAP posted-by: Matt