Commercial pot sales won’t be happening in Oak Park

Officials remain adamantly opposed



The Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council rejected the possibility of a marijuana dispensary opening in its jurisdiction, with MAC members saying that a pot shop would be inconsistent with the community’s family values.

In November 2016, Californians approved the use of recreational marijuana. Previously, the state allowed dispensaries to sell marijuana for medical purposes only.

Several Conejo Valley cities have laws on the books prohibiting pot shops from opening in their boundaries. Oak Park is among several unincorporated areas in Ventura County that supervisors are looking at as potential locations for dispensaries, in part because these areas do not have the same legal authority as cities to prevent the shops from opening.

Although a pot shop could conceivably open in Oak Park, MAC members said that no such commercial enterprise is wanted, noting that when a liquor store recently tried to open in the area, protests ensued.

MAC vice chair Chris Chapman said residents told him unequivocally they oppose commercial pot stores in Oak Park.

“It was pretty unanimous,” Chapman said.

“There is a strong belief that we do not want a (marijuana) dispensary (in Oak Park), MAC chair Alon Glickstein said. “It diminishes the reputation of the neighborhood.”

Marijuana stores would only be allowed to open in specific commercial and industrial areas in the county. And according to Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, Oak Park is the only unincorporated area in the east end of the county that would qualify as a location.

Parks did not comment on possible dispensary locations in the unincorporated west county.

“My concern was that, in all of the east county unincorporated area, only Oak Park has the zoning that would allow a dispensary, and this was recently confirmed by county staff,” Parks said. “Another criteria, by the way, is that the dispensary would have to be 1,000 feet or more from a school.”

Officials say a likely Oak Park location would be in the former Oak Park Dentistry building at Sunnycrest Drive and Kanan Road, less than one mile from Oak Park High School.

Parks said she believes regulations on cannabis are necessary, but doesn’t want to hinder the accessibility of those who use marijuana for medical purposes.

“In the past, leaders in Oak Park have been concerned that a liquor store was going to move into one of the two small retail centers in Oak Park,” Parks said. “Because of this, I don’t think the Oak Park community would welcome a marijuana dispensary there either. Some cities in Ventura County are welcoming the industry, including most recently Port Hueneme.”

MAC member Jane Nye said the issue is “dead in the county.”

MAC members will draft a letter to the county of Ventura outlining their opposition to a marijuana dispensary opening in the area.



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