City of Mountain View council members voted on October 2, 2018 on cannabis regulations. Our coalition is happy that 3 proposed marijuana outlets were blocked. We, OJE, were in charge of planning, mobilization of supporters, and media relations, in this campaign. We sincerely thank all the supporters, allies, and friends for the cooperation and efforts. Over 90% of the speakers in the public hearing were against marijuana stores.
To start with, only two storefront marijuana retail outlets were approved, down from the originally proposed five. Given the current environment in the Bay Area, this is not a bad result. The negative impact of storefront marijuana outlets is minimized the best we can, reflecting that unity and determination of citizens are needed and will bear fruit.
The good news is that basically all the proposed marijuana outlet locations where children and Chinese Americans congregate were banned including Grant Park Shopping Center, San Antonio Center, and Mountain View downtown. At Grant Park Shopping Center, the original proposed pot outlet location was even right next to Ranch 99 Supermarket and Asian American retail stores. We have reiterated that it is unacceptable and that legal action would likely be taken if they insist to move on with this plan. In connection with the application process, the proposed lottery system is basically changed to a merit based system which is much better in protecting citizens and families.
However, we are disappointed that the council members ignored the wills of citizens to keep the distance between marijuana store and school/youth center to be only 600 feet. We will continue to work on this area, hopefully to change this in the future. Their decision to allow two more non-storefront pot companies in the city only for delivery purposes is also not welcomed, but this type of company usually does not cause big negative impact especially not on DUI marijuana.
Finally, we strongly suggest a new ordinance be created, requiring the City of Mountain View to provide at least a 30-day notice before the first public hearing to the residents and businesses within 1,000 feet of a proposed marijuana outlet.