One council member’s 2020 campaign statements pertaining to a 15-acre housing development planned for the city’s north end caused a public hearing for the project to be canceled Tuesday.
Retail cannabis gets the green light in Costa Mesa as council passes new law
A vendor makes change for a marijuana customer in 2019. Retail cannabis businesses may soon apply for permits in Costa Mesa, after council members Tuesday passed a citywide ordinance.
(Associated Press)
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Six months after Costa Mesa voters resoundingly approved Measure Q a move to legalize retail cannabis sales and delivery city officials on Tuesday adopted legislation intended to regulate such businesses while weeding out bad actors.
“Out of humility I’ve said it’s not perfect, and that’s probably true,” Mayor John Stephens said of an ordinance that will allow dispensaries in commercial zones but institute a 1,000 barrier from sensitive uses, such as K-12 schools, playgrounds, child daycare centers and homeless shelters.
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On 4/20 a date known to marijuana enthusiasts nationwide the Costa Mesa City Council passed an ordinance regulating retail cannabis sales and delivery in commercial areas, a move they say will help curtail illegal dispensaries run amok.
Officials have long described an influx of illicit operators, selling wares in nondescript storefronts to unsuspecting or undiscriminating clients, and the immensity of city resources it takes to shut them down.
“In Costa Mesa, you have an unquestionable demand for cannabis. [And] the demand is being filled by illegal operators, or trap shops,” Mayor John Stephens said Tuesday.
“They’re selling unregulated products to our consumers. One way you can get rid of illegal dispensaries is to bring a legal market in,” he continued.
If approved, Costa Mesa would join a growing list of cities that have adopted hazard pay ordinances, including Irvine, Long Beach and Santa Ana, where council members approved a similar measure Tuesday.