LAKE COUNTY — One medical marijuana dispensary remains open in unincorporated Lake County while the others appear to be closed, a county official said Friday.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) deemed pot clubs were illegal land-uses in the county”s jurisdiction in December and ordered staff to proceed with the abatement process to close them down.
The supervisors” decision came in the wake of them responding to a successful referendum petition by rescinding the ordinance they passed in August that established regulations under which dispensaries could operate.
Entering this week, two of the 10 clubs open at the time the ordinance passed had not shut down, according to Community Development Director Rick Coel.
One dispensary operator promised to halve that number Tuesday.
Daniel Chadwick, who ran the H2C Collective, appeared before the BOS Tuesday for an abatement hearing.
Though he urged the supervisors not to close his shop, Chadwick vowed to comply with their order. “We”re not here to fight you,” he said.
The BOS voted 4-1 to direct staff to abate the nuisance if Chadwick does not voluntarily shut down the dispensary by next week.
Coel said Friday he hadn”t confirmed whether H2C Collective closed but was “pretty convinced” it had shut down.
That would leave Visions of Avatar, located in unincorporated Lakeport, as the lone dispensary still operating. General manager Peggy Dimauro declined to comment Friday.
Coel said the county plans to begin the nuisance abatement process. A BOS hearing has tentatively been set for Feb. 28, he added.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing, who cast the dissenting vote Tuesday, said she asked county counsel in December to draft a new dispensary ordinance.
“The ordinance would essentially ban any new dispensaries and would direct that the ban not be enforced for the remaining existing dispensaries that are not within 675 feet of a school,” Rushing said in an email Thursday night.
The proposal is ready to be presented to the BOS should it be placed on an agenda, she added.
