LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Following the settlement of a court action and an abatement ordered by the Board of Supervisors, the last of the medical marijuana dispensaries operating within the county’s jurisdiction have reportedly closed.
In May the county of Lake received a permanent injunction against a Clearlake Oaks medical marijuana dispensary that had remained open following the rescinding of a dispensaries ordinance last year.
Judge David Herrick signed the stipulated judgment in the County of Lake v. David Moses dba Alternative Solutions on May 21. Herrick’s final approval followed the Board of Supervisors’ vote to accept the agreement after a closed session May 15.
County Counsel Anita Grant explained that under the permanent injunction Moses can no longer conduct marijuana-related business – including advertising, sales or distributions – at the site.
As part of the settlement, Moses agreed to pay the county $460.79 for the initial abatement hearing process, the documents showed.
Emails and a phone message left for Moses’ attorney, Robert W. MacKenzie of Chico, were not returned.
The county’s case against Moses is the latest in a series of actions the Board of Supervisors directed county staff to take against dispensaries, which the county maintains are not legal under the county’s zoning ordinance.
While dispensaries are not allowed within the jurisdictions of the county and Lakeport, the city of Clearlake has rules that allow for up to three of the facilities.
Last October, the Board of Supervisors – facing a referendum – rescinded the ordinance governing medical marijuana dispensaries that it had passed in August 2011.
Then last November, based on board direction, Community Development Department staff issued notices of violation to 10 dispensaries operating within the unincorporated county, as Lake County News has reported.
Some of those dispensaries closed shortly after the board’s action to rescind the ordinance or had closed or converted to retail of non-marijuana products by the start of this year, according to a January interview with Community Development Director Rick Coel.
Alternative Solutions, located at 12867 and 12887 E. Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks, was served with one of the violation notices, and remained open past the late 2011 deadline it had been given for shutting down.
On Jan. 10, Moses and Alternative Solutions went before the Board of Supervisors for a nuisance abatement hearing. The board voted 5-0 to abate the dispensary by Jan. 20, and authorized county staff to take action if the dispensary wasn’t closed by then.
With Alternative Solutions remaining open past that deadline, on March 22, the county filed a complaint against Moses and his dispensary seeking a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction, according to court filings.
The county’s case alleged that Moses had never checked with Community Development on permits, allowed uses or a metal structure he put up on the site. The property also is within 600 feet of East Lake Elementary School.
Moses, who purchased the property in December 2007, argued for a preexisting commercial use on the property, which his real estate agent said was the case in a letter filed with the court.
Grant conceded that the property had a previous commercial use, and that Moses could continue to use it commercially, just not for marijuana.
She told Lake County News that zoning is a fundamental county power, and zoning “is how we make that come to life.”
Moses claimed in his court filings that he was growing marijuana on site, and MacKenzie submitted to the court an appeals court opinion in City of Lake Forest vs. Evergreen Holistic Collective, a March decision that found that cities couldn’t shut down medical marijuana dispensaries that grew the plants on their own premises.
However, on May 18 – three days before Judge Herrick signed the settlement agreement between the county and Moses – the California Supreme Court announced it would review the Lake Forest case. As a result the appeals court decision was unpublished and can’t be used as a basis for future court decisions.
Another local dispensary that was ordered abated by the Board of Supervisors also has reportedly closed.
On May 8, the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 – with Supervisor Denise Rushing voting no – to abate Visions of Avatar, a dispensary located just outside the Lakeport city limits at 90 A Soda Bay Road. The dispensary was to be closed by May 21.
A message left at the dispensary was not returned.
Coel said Alternative Solutions followed the injunctive order to close, and Visions of Avatar also has apparently complied with the county’s order to shut its doors.
In the wake of the settlement reached with Alternative Solutions and the action taken against Visions of Avatar, “to my knowledge there are no dispensaries in operation in the county’s jurisdiction,” said Coel.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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