Medical-Marijuana debate continues to impact North 32nd Street

 in News/ Events
Medical-Marijuana debate continues to impact North 32nd Street

Mohave Valley medical Marijuana facility

The City of Phoenix approved the permit for a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary facility at 10443 North 32nd Street (SE corner 32nd St and Shea).  The permit comes with the following stipulations:

  1. The Use Permit shall be reviewed within 365 days of the issuance of the dispensary certificate for a medical ZA Hearing Marked Agenda – November 19, 2015 Page 8 marijuana from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
  2. The applicant has 1 year to apply and pay for building permits.
  3. Obtain a certificate for medical marijuana use from the Arizona Department of Health Services. If no certificate or approval to operate is granted within 1 year of the approval of this Use Permit, the Zoning Administrator shall schedule a revocation hearing for this Use Permit.
  4. The applicant shall submit a security plan provided to the Arizona Department of Health Services to the Planning and Development Department.
  5. The applicant shall notify in writing the area’s Police Precinct Commander of establishing such facility. Notice of this contact shall be submitted in writing to the Planning and Development Department.
  6. The applicant shall provide enhanced landscaping along 32nd Street.

Despite the restrictions, some community members are concerned how close in proximity it is to nearby schools. The location is .5 miles from Shadow Mountain High School, as is an existing liquor store.

However the concern remains and many residents are looking at changing existing zoning regulations. A recent AZ Republic article interviewed Louisa Ward over the neighborhood concerns.  Louisa said “many of her neighborhoods would support the proposed increases in distance.”

Ryan Hurly, chair of Rose Law Group’s medical marijuana practice group, said the proposed changes to the zoning  would make it “next to impossible” to find a site that doesn’t require variances he said. The city has existing spacing requirements that ensure medical-marijuana facilities are not too close to one another. The city has been more conservative recently in approving new medical-marijuana facilities, Hurley said. But neighborhood complaints wane after a facility is operating, he said.