• Smoke Shop Isn't Blowing Smoke

***UPDATE***

Pardon the cheesy headline, but I just got word that there is no stopping the smoke shop from opening across the street from Wildomar Elementary and it's the first thing that came to me as my fingers hit the keyboard.

If you don't know what this is about, please check the blog discussing the smoke shop that is looking to open within a stone's throw of Wildomar Elementary with this link.

City staff has spoken with the State Board of Equalization, who issues tobacco licenses, and staff was told that they do not have any distance requirements from schools or other sensitive uses.   

Staff then called the County Health Department and they also do not have distance requirements.  

Knock, knock... Who's there? Your neighbor the smoke shop guy.

The bottom line is that it is up to each local agency to adopt its own distance requirements….our current Wildomar city code does not have any such standard.

Just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Also, the applicant has told the city that he already has his state license and will be providing that with his next Tenant Improvement submittal to the planning department.

One question remains, will they be fixing that bad paint job or not? 

At this point, once the shop owner complies with the requirements outlined in Section 5.64 of the Wildomar Municipal Code and addresses plan check comments, the city will issue Tenant Improvement permits and this use will be permitted. 

Opinion Time:
For those that want to spend time talking about Wildomar not updating these codes before now, go right on ahead, I won't stop you. For me, talking about the horses that left the barn (then closing the barn door) has never been high on my list of things to do.

The wheels have already been put in motion to update the city codes where this type of business is concerned.

 

You may be saying, "I thought you didn't like wasting time talking about water under the bridge?" Why bother updating the codes regarding this now?

Good point, but let's look a little further down the road. 

There is a mostly empty strip mall right across Bundy Canyon from the High School (I've been corrected... there is a barber and a new taco shop that are getting ready to open). And though it seems as if the long term business plan over there is to keep most of that center empty, eventually those vacant units will get tenants. (I'm leaving the verbal jab in there, they earned it after all the years of empty units)

We want to be ahead of the issue, not finding ourselves in a similar situation that we face today, with an adult-centric business opening right next to a school.

Which leads me to a thought on commercial cannabis in Wildomar.

The state legislature is busy with AB 1356 which will remove most of the local control in municipalities that passed Prop 64 (Hello Wildomar - 52.8%).

The language in the bill has changed a couple of times, and it still may change before it gets voted on, but the gist of the bill wants there to be one retail cannabis licence for every six liquor licenses. 

Without counting on your fingers, what's your quick guess as to how many liquor licenses are currently held in Wildomar.

If you guessed more than thirty, you were right. 

That would suggest about 5 retail cannabis licenses be issued... but there is a alternate provision that asks for one licence for every 15,000 residents... or whichever is lower.

Wildomar has 36,000 residents, so depending on where numbers get rounded up, that's a minimum of two to three retail cannabis licenses that Sacramento wants Wildomar to have... if it passes, and Governor Newsom signs it. There are a lot of moving parts to this, but if we aren't anticipating them, we could easily get caught flat footed again.

This is a key reason for the city to write municipal codes dealing with commercial cannabis now, and not scramble after the fact, while dealing with some decree from Sacramento. 

If we don't restrict where such businesses can go, they'll be able to go wherever they want... like the new smoke shop. 

Correction: It was brought to my attention that Prop 64 does restrict distances from schools to a minimum of 600 feet. Still, the point stands as we currently have no restrictions on the books regarding this industry.

Language of AB 1356   link to full bill here

The bill would require the local jurisdiction to issue those licenses as otherwise required by this bill within a specified period of time if a local jurisdiction subject to the requirements of this bill does not submit a local ordinance or other local law regarding the lower amount of licenses to the electorate, or that local ordinance or other local law fails to receive more than 50% of the approval of the electorate voting on the issue. 

The bill would provide that these provisions are prohibited from being construed to require a local jurisdiction to authorize adult-use retail cannabis commercial activity. By imposing additional requirements on local jurisdictions the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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– George Bernard Shaw

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