RIVERSIDE (CNS) – In the face of overwhelming community opposition, the Board of Supervisors today denied a permit for a proposed cannabis business alongside Highway 371 in Anza.
“I respect the communities in my district, what they look and feel like,” Supervisor Chuck Washington said ahead of the 3-0 vote against Cannabis 21’s request for a conditional use permit. “This would have a detrimental effect to the look and feel of the Anza Valley. I can support cannabis outlets at appropriate locations. I don’t think this is the right location.”
Board Chairman Jeff Hewitt was absent, and Supervisor Manuel Perez abstained. Supervisors Kevin Jeffries and Karen Spiegel joined Washington in voting no.
About two dozen people from Anza and Aguanga appeared before the board to speak in opposition to the proposal during the two-hour public hearing.  “Anza could be a gem,” resident Audrey Turpin told the board. “The last of the small affordable family ranches are there. Marijuana dispensaries belong in cities, where there’s a police officer five minutes away, not where the response time for a sheriff’s deputy is more than 20 minutes.”
Pastor Robert Reece, who presides at one of the two churches within a few feet of where the cannabis outlet had been proposed, pointed to the “harmful and destructive” aspects of drug use, and said his congregation was strongly opposed to any business that would send a negative message to parishioners, particularly children who would see the marijuana shop and its clientele.
Philip Canaday, a member of the Anza Valley Chamber of Commerce, referred to the segment of Highway 371 running through the area as “slaughter alley” for all the deadly accidents that happen almost weekly. He told the board that crashes would increase with the number of people pouring into the area from the Coachella and Temecula valleys, as well as San Diego County, to purchase products at the proposed outlet.
Sean St. Peter, whose Cannabis 21 franchise is already in operation in Hemet, Highgrove and Palm Desert, said he had engaged in ongoing community outreach, but he could not cite any official support, with the Anza Valley Municipal Advisory Council opposing his proposal despite several public presentations.
The county Planning Commission approved the proposed 3,966-square-foot operation at 55050 Highway 371, near Cahuilla Road, in a 3-1 vote in April.  Cannabis 21 sought a 10-year development agreement and would have been required to make annual public benefits payments to the county totaling $64,627 for the services needed by the new store, including emergency response.
The business would have been run seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with mobile delivery services available.
The county has granted 23 conditional use permits for cannabis operations in unincorporated communities since December 2019.
Last month, Jeffries complained that only a couple of those permits had resulted in new businesses opening their doors, with other locations static. In one instance, in Lakeland Village, a cannabis outlet that was strongly opposed by residents but granted authorization anyway failed to make the promised enhancements to the surrounding property, which has since fallen into disrepair, with no timeline for opening.
The supervisor used that as an example for seeking changes in county regulations that would specify a process of revoking licenses previously granted to marijuana merchants for failure to meet obligations.
County attorneys and code enforcement officials are expected to bring a proposal to the board this summer.
In addition to Lakeland Village and Highgrove, the board has signed off on cannabis dispensaries and manufacturing facilities in the unincorporated communities of Bermuda Dunes, Coronita, East Hemet, Green Acres, Mead Valley, Temescal Valley, Thousand Palms and Winchester.
The county’s 2018 Marijuana Comprehensive Regulatory Framework, codified under Ordinance No. 348, provides for steps that prospective businesses must take to be eligible for permits. Safety and health safeguards are part of the regulatory system.
Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc.
CNS-06-14-2022 13:08
