In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court gave local jurisdictions the authority Monday to use zoning and land-use ordinances to ban marijuana dispensaries.
When the city of Dana Point began looking into area pot shops, officials alleged they were violating city zoning ordinances, said City Attorney Patrick Munoz. The city began litigating the issue of whether or not dispensaries were complying with state law, which bars marijuana dispensaries from operating as for-profit businesses, he said.
A state appellate court overturned an Orange County Superior Court judgment in February against a medicinal marijuana dispensary shut down by the city of Dana Point for alleged illegal operations in 2011.
Garrison Williams, former owner of the dispensary Holistic Health, carried his case to the 4th District Court of Appeals, after a May 2011 summary judgment ruling—by Superior Court Judge David R. Chaffee—awarded more than $2 million to the city.
The appellate court found there were still facts to be tried and the case is expected to go to trial this year, Munoz said, adding this high court’s decision should make the case clear cut.
According to the superior court’s website, a trial setting conference has been set for Tuesday, May 28.
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