Hollister City Council members put off a proposal Tuesday that would have legalized adult-use marijuana dispensaries.
Council members voted unanimously to revisit the matter at the March 4 regular meeting in order to obtain public input on the idea.
That proposal came forward from city staff at Tuesday’s meeting. Staff proposed amending the cannabis law here to include the allowance of adult-use dispensary sales and eliminating mention of medical in the ordinance.
Staff officials pushed for the change since state regulations no longer differentiate between medical and adult-use, and even a Hollister Police Department representative argued in favor of the change in order to curb illegal deliveries. City Manager Bill Avera also noted how the City of San Juan Bautista’s recent move to legalize adult-use retail sales played into the decision, as Hollister leaders don’t want to lose out on potential tax dollars to the Mission City.
“We didn’t necessarily want to lose our customer base to San Juan Bautista,” Avera said.
But council members, led by a seemingly perturbed Mayor Ignacio Velazquez, instead voted to get more public input before taking that step. Velazquez was openly annoyed that the item showed up on Tuesday’s agenda without consultation with the council.
“I cannot believe this was on here without one person calling me or another council person asking to bring this back up,” Velazquez said.
There are now four new council members in place since the council last year decided to allow medicinal marijuana dispensaries but prohibit adult-use shops. The consideration is more than two years after California and local voters, meanwhile, voted to legalize recreational adult-use cannabis sales. Despite public approval of adult-use legalization, it’s up to each municipality to vote on whether to allow such dispensaries in their limits.
Velazquez gained support for the concept of taking more public input before a decision. This came after some residents spoke for or against the proposal.
The city did post the regular agenda outside City Hall as required by law, but there was no other public announcement issued on the cannabis hearing.
“I don’t want to live in a city that is known for recreational marijuana,” said resident Sue Whitehead, joined by her husband in opposition.
Resident Gary Cameron said he’s always considered Hollister a wholesome community.
“I am concerned about tipping the scales and making it not as wholesome as it already is,” he said.
Opponents have expressed concern about cannabis getting into the hands of youths, but those on the other side have argued that hasn’t been the reality since statewide legalization happened.
Cannabis industry proponent Elia Salinas cited a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association noting how teen use has dropped significantly to go with legalization of recreational cannabis.
Salinas recalled a time when the mayor had been in favor of cannabis and claimed he has been pandering for votes with his change of heart.
“You were the one that wanted dispensaries in downtown,” Salinas said.
Velazquez responded after Salinas spoke. He said Salinas had “foggy memories” on some of her comments and that he had done a lot of research on the topic. The mayor was in favor of giving the two approved medical dispensaries time to operate and prove themselves before going forward on adult use.
The proposal Tuesday would have allowed the two previously approved facilities, which are close to opening shop, to sell for adult use.
“I really don’t care if people use cannabis,” Velazquez said in the meeting. “That’s not my issue. My issue is making sure we’re doing this right.”
Council and public comments were met with a newly public perspective from a Hollister Police Department officer, Chris Wells, who oversees cannabis issues. The HPD officer argued during the meeting that allowing adult-use facilities would cut down on an uptick in illegal deliveries that have been occurring.
Wells noted how regulated adult-use facilities would have to comply with state rules on such matters as packaging and security.
“Marijuana is being delivered on a daily basis,” he said.
Council members Carol Lenoir, Honor Spencer, Rolan Resendiz and Marty Richman were on a similar page in that they wanted to hear from the public.
“I want to talk to more people,” Spencer said. “I want to talk to everybody. That’s what I want to do.”
