New Parking Rules for LA Collectives
May 10th, 2010 | by Don Duncan |Los Angeles Zoning Administrator Michael Logrande has published his interpretation of what the city’s zoning rules mean for medical cannabis collectives in the city. His interpretation acknowledges that collectives can locate in any zone in the city, provided that they meet the requirements of the new ordinance. Collective operators struggling to find compliant locations may be surprised, however, to see a new hurdle in the interpretation. Mr. Logrande states that collectives “operate in a way that is similar to medical offices and clinics,” and should therefore have one parking space per two hundred square feet of floor space. This may make finding a location even harder than it is already.
In Palm Springs, city staff addressed the same issue with a compromise. Collectives there can divide their square footage based on retail and manufacturing (cultivation) uses, and benefit from the lower parking requirement for manufacturing. That is a common sense solution that balances the needs of the collective with those of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the Zoning Administrator’s interpretation for Los Angeles requires that the 1/200 ratio be applied to “all activities of the collective.”
The interpretation also echoes Section 45.19.6.7 of the new ordinance in denying legal prior nonconforming use status to collectives that registered before the city’s moratorium took effect in 2007. This controversial provision of the ordinance may yet generate litigation from collectives unable to meet the city’s tight deadlines and tough restrictions.
Stakeholders have until May 21 to appeal the Zoning Administrator’s determination to the Planning Department.
Tags: Los Angeles, medical cannabis, parking, regulations, zoning, Zoning Administrator Michael Logrande
