San Luis Obispo City Council approved the first reading of a foundational draft ordinance for bringing recreational marijuana storefronts to San Luis Obispo May 1.
If the draft is approved in the second reading May 15, as many as three storefronts will be permitted to sell recreational or medical marijuana in San Luis Obispo.
Regulations would prohibit stores from within a 300-foot radius of residential areas or a 1,000-foot radius of schools and parks.
“I think the City Council took the public input into consideration carefully and they had a detailed discussion about the future of the cannabis in the city,” San Luis Obispo’s Community Development Director Michael Codron said.
The proposed storefronts would be on arterial roads such as Higuera Street, Broad Street and Tank Farm Road. None of the locations would be downtown.
If the ordinance is passed, the city would also allow 70,000 square feet of indoor cultivation collectively in the city and would continue home delivery services. Home delivery is especially important to many who are not 21 years old and have a medical card. Even with a medical card, a customer must be 21 years old to purchase from a retail store.
Many of those who attended the meeting voiced their opinions on a range of topics, such as setting the age limit to 21 for stores selling marijuana products.
San Luis Obispo resident Dave Garrett drew attention to the differentiation between recreational and medical marijuana and its ability to fight pain.
“I’ve been using medical marijuana for over 30 years, and it is all that keeps me mobile,” Garrett said.
He also mentioned examples of other uses for medical marijuana, such as in treating Parkinson’s disease, sports injuries and PTSD.
A set of regulations preventing large signage for businesses would be put in place along with the proposal, if passed. Cannabis-related events would also be prohibited in San Luis Obispo.
Depending on the November elections, if a tax revenue measure and the second reading are approved, San Luis Obispo can continue forward with introducing marijuana shops.