LA City Council rethinks buffer zones
December 10th, 2009 | by Don Duncan |
Jan Perry
One day after approving onerous new restrictions on where medical cannabis collectives can be located, the Los Angeles City Council seemed ready to rethink the issue today. Spurred by comments from Councilmember Ed Reyes, several members indicated they were willing to revisit Tuesday’s motion by Councilmember Perry to double the size of the buffer zone between collectives and a laundry list of sensitive uses to 1,000 feet – including any property used as a residence. The change of heart is good news for tens of thousands of patients in Los Angeles. Perry’s unexpected motion might have excluded collectives in most of the properties in Los Angeles.
The City Council has delayed a vote on the final ordinance, including Perry’s motion, until Wednesday, December 16, when the Planning Department is expected to produce maps illustrating 500 and 1,000 buffer zones around sensitive uses and residential use. Early research suggests the maps will show little opportunity for legally organized collectives in the city. This may spur City Councilmembers to reconsider the previous language, which required collectives to locate 500 feet from sensitive uses and avoid only those properties that abut residential use.
City Councilmembers deserve credit for rethinking their 11th-hour decision to adopt the unworkable amendment, but grassroots activists played an important part in changing their minds. A team of activists from Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance (GLACA), and others stayed up late calling and emailing City Council offices after yesterday’s decision. Then, they got up early to follow up in the morning and be at City Hall by 10:00 AM.
Advocates were pleasantly surprised when the City Council approved the delay without objection. But they didn’t just walk away happy. A team of ASA and GLACA representatives fanned out across the fourth floor of City Hall after the decision, visiting each Council office to reinforce their message. They will follow up with meetings, phone calls, and emails before Wednesday’s vote. The dedication of this all-volunteer team is admirable. Many of them have been working on this issue for years.
Grassroots pressure has help push the city of Los Angeles towards regulations since 2005. Citizen advocates helped stop early plans to ban collectives outright, thwarted plans to prohibit sales of medicine, and defeated a proposal to restrict collective cultivation to a single location. That is a great track record against powerful foes, who want to roll back safe access in the city.
The City Council will take up the draft ordinance at the City Council meeting on Wednesday, December 16, in their meeting beginning at 10:00 AM. The meeting will be in Room 340 at City Hall.
Tags: city council, ed reyes, grassroots, Jan Perry, Los Angeles, marijuana, medical cannabis, regulations
By Jim Cohan on Dec 12, 2009
Has any thought been given to problems of collectives with long leases that will have to relocate, the difficulty of finding new locations, and the thousands of employees that may no longer have jobs?