Third applicant eyes site for medical pot shop
Another application for a medical marijuana collective in Ramona has been submitted to the county, making it the third proposed shop for the community.
Two of the sites — 1210 Olive St. and 618 Pine St.— have received building permits from the county, and their backers have submitted applications to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Licensing and Registration Unit. Building permits were issued to Michael Sherlock for 1210 Olive St. and to Dino Berardino for 618 Pine St., according to the county.
The site on Olive Street is in the construction phase, said Detective Michael Helms with the sheriff’s licensing division. The length of the process to receive an operating license depends on how quickly construction is completed and signed off by the building inspector, he said.
“We will not issue a certificate to operate until that has been completed, said Helms.
Ramona Design Review Board is scheduled to review new exterior lighting for the 1210 Olive St. site at its Aug. 27 meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Ramona Community Center, 434 Aqua Lane.
The detective said he did not believe the applicants for the Pine Street location had taken possession of the building yet, “so they are likely several months out from receiving an operating certificate.”
The newest application is for 736 Montecito Way, according to the county’s Planning and Development Services, and the proposed scope is to convert a single family dwelling to a medical marijuana collective. County staff said the plans, submitted July 31, are under review so no building permit has been issued.
Helms said the sheriff’s licensing division has been speaking with a group that has an interest in a property on Montecito Way, but an application for an operating certificate had not been submitted.
County ordinance requires that a collective may only operate in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County if a Medical Marijuana Collective Facility Operating Compliance Certificate has been issued by the sheriff’s department.
“This office fields several phone calls every day from people inquiring about setting up a marijuana collective somewhere in the county,” said Helms.
The owner on the building permit application for the Montecito Way location is listed as Lance Rogers.
Rogers, with Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP, is listed on the law firm’s website as senior counsel for the Cannabis Business and Criminal Defense Divisions. He represented Mother Earth Alternative Healing Cooperative when it presented a preliminary proposal to the Ramona Community Planning Group for a medical marijuana co-op at 1339 Walnut St. in January 2013. The planning group expressed concerns about that location and suggested the group look for a better suited site.
Medical marijuana collectives can only be on industrial-zoned parcels and must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, recreation centers, youth centers, churches, playground parks and residential zoning.