Public Hearing followed by discussion and possible action on any and all matters regarding Conditional Use Permit Case No. 2015-0156, a request by Mark Maydahl, Ozvest, Inc., owner, for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a medical marijuana dispensary offsite cultivation location on a General Industrial (H-1) zoned property located at 2801 N. Main Street, San Luis, AZ.  (John Starkey)  

A.  Open public hearing
B.  Close public hearing
C.  Action on Conditional Use Permit Case No. 2015-0156

The applicant is requesting a Conditional Use Permit to allow a medical marijuana dispensary offsite cultivation location at 2801 N. Main Street. The property zoned as H-I and is located north of the City of San Luis along Highway 95. The existing metal building was developed as a manufacturing warehouse but it has been unused for a few years now.
 
The legal name of the proposed medical marijuana dispensary will be Choice San Luis Inc. The company that will be managing this dispensary is Choice Cannabis LLC, a nonprofit business. Choice Cannabis currently operates 2 medical marijuana dispensaries, 1 cultivation site, 1 infusion kitchen, and 1 extraction lab, all licensed by the State of Arizona.
 
The conditional use permit is required by the City of San Luis Zoning Ordinance and it is needed prior to applying for a dispensary registration certificate. After receiving the dispensary registration certificate from the state, the application will go thru the building permit and business license process. During the process the applicant must comply with all current regulations of the City of San Luis. 
 
The City may receive several applications for dispensaries but the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) only issues one dispensary registration certificate per Community Health Analysis Area (CHAA).
 
A CHAA zone is a type of geographic unit sectioned out by the Arizona Department of Health Services. There are a total of 126 CHAA zones in the state, and candidates can apply to open a dispensary in either one of them if they stand up to all the necessary criteria.
 
The dispensary registration certificate application process is divided appropriately. If there are several applications for CHAA that are complete and in compliance, the ADHS issues one certificate using a random selection process, and in case there is only one qualifying application for a given CHAA zone it will be automatically approved.
 
The state grants only one dispensary registration certificate per CHAA zone. The City of San Luis is one CHAA zone therefore the number of dispensaries in the City is limited to only one. However, this proposed location is located within Somerton CHAA so it will be applying for the dispensary registration certificate of that CHAA. Even thought is in the Somerton CHAA the property is within San Luis city limits and is required a conditional use permit.
 
A qualifying patient may grow their own marijuana, up to 12 plants, in an enclosed, locked facility if they live more than 25 miles from a licensed dispensary.   By allowing a medical marijuana dispensary in the City, no one will be able to grow at home within the city limits of San Luis.
 
The state law dictates that medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary facilities can’t go within certain distances of schools, day care centers, churches, etc. Because of the prevalence of those facilities in San Luis, particularly toward the center of the city, the locations where medical marijuana facilities would be allowed are rather limited.
 
CITIZEN REVIEW MEETING:
 
The Citizen Review Meeting was held on June 2, 2015 at City Hall Council Chambers at 7:00 P.M. The intent of this meeting was to allow the public to learn about the project, ask questions, and express comments. There were three people from the public present and no questions regarding this location were asked.
 
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING:
 
The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on June 9, 2015. Five members of the commission were present. A commission member asked whether or not any hazardous material was involved in the proposed cultivation location. The representative of Choice Cannabis explained that, because marijuana is a plant, it is just as any agricultural cultivation facility and it will not generate any hazardous material. After discussion, the Commission made a motion to recommend approval with conditions of the request, to the City Council, with four votes in favor and one against.
 
AGENCY REVIEW:
 
As part of the review process, all land use cases are reviewed by various City and outside agencies.  We have received comments from the following agencies:

1. City of San Luis Fire Department (05-07-15)
2. Yuma County Water Users’ Association (05-14-15)
3. U.S.. Bureau of Reclamation (05-18-15)

As required by State Statute, staff sent notification letters to property owners within 300 feet of the proposed project (14 letters). The City has not received any other significant concerns or objections from the various review agencies or adjacent property owners.
 
The applicant has provided the information and materials necessary for review of the request for a Conditional Use Permit. 
 
The Planning and Zoning Commission and City staff recommends that the City Council APPROVE the Conditional Use Permit to allow a medical marijuana dispensary offsite cultivation location at 2081 E. Main Street in San Luis, AZ.  Approval subject to the “Conditions of Approval” attached.