A county advisory committee is inviting people to chime in on two proposed medical marijuana dispensaries in West Marin during a public meeting next week, where the applicants will present their proposals.
The meeting comes as the county considers banning storefronts for recreational marijuana, which was legalized in California in a voter referendum in November, at least until state regulations are released. The state has until Jan. 1, 2018, to create a regulatory framework for the sale of recreational cannabis.
The proposal for a medical marijuana storefront in Forest Knolls has drawn sharp criticism in the valley, where many are concerned about its impacts on traffic, children and crime. The applicant, San Rafael resident Kip Baldwin, co-created a reality T.V. series called Weed Country, whose star, Matthew Shotwell, has been in talks with the owner of the property to purchase the building.
A proposal for a dispensary at the Marshall Tavern, which drew serious questions and concerns from the East Shore Planning Group this week, has garnered less scrutiny since its full application only became public this week.
In September, when the county released the names of applicants for medical storefronts, a co-owner of the tavern, Avi Atid, told the Light that he and his business partner, Daniel Altman, had not given permission for the application, a county requirement. But planner Inge Lundegaard said the Community Development Agency received written permission from the owners in December.
Craftcanna Health Center would operate at the long-empty Marshall Tavern, for sale since July, which has a permit to operate as a bed-and-breakfast.
The application was submitted by Novato resident Jyoti Sroa, owner and manager of Cafe Lotus, an organic Indian restaurant in Fairfax. Mr. Sroa would be the dispensary’s managing director while Aaron Godbout, who recently relocated to San Rafael from San Diego and who the application calls “a farmer and cultivator of medical cannabis for the last three decades,” would be the executive director.
The application frames the venture as combining Mr. Sroa’s local service experience with Mr. Godbout’s cannabis background. “Mr. Godbout wants to make Craftcanna THE DESTINATION for cannabis connoisseurs in Marin County,” the application says, adding later that “Craftcanna wants to do [for] medical cannabis what the Lotus brand has done for Indian cuisine.”
Mr. Altman and Mr. Atid received permission from the California Coastal Commission in 2012 to operate a five-room bed-and-breakfast with a caretaker unit in a sixth room. Since then, they have received permit extensions and permission to operate it without a caretaker unit.
But Craftcanna would probably need to start the coastal permit process anew. “We will likely have to go back to the beginning to obtain the necessary permits and approvals,” the application says.
And given the dilapidated state of the tavern, Craftcanna expects it could take years before he could open a dispensary. According to the application, the plan is to park a mobile office trailer in the tavern’s parking lot and operate “primarily through delivery” but also by appointment. The proceeds would be used to renovate the building, likely an expensive undertaking.
Mr. Sroa also welcomes community thoughts. “Craftcanna welcomes feedback from the Marshall community about the reconstruction of the Marshall Tavern and understands that this may result in delays so that we can get the reconstruction right!” the application states.
In its first year of operation, Craftcanna expects to gross $1.1 million by serving 11,000 customers, with expenses at $1.084 million.
Mary Halley, president of the East Shore Planning Group, said the group did not believe Marshall was an appropriate location for a medical dispensary. The point of the county’s program, she said, is to provide wider access. “It’s very remote,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like a good fit.”
Four people involved with the application made a presentation to the group on Monday evening. Ms. Halley said there were many issues that have not been fully thought through. For instance, any mobile unit would need permission from the coastal commission and would need to be hooked up to a septic system. Parking is limited and Craftcanna may have significantly underestimated the cost of renovating the tavern, to name a few major concerns the group has.
“They’re not that familiar with coastal development,” she said of the applicants.
The county’s meeting next Tuesday, along with two others this month that will consider eight applications in eastern Marin, “will provide a forum for the applicants to present to the public and for the advisory committee to ask questions,” Ms. Lundegaard said.
People can also send written comments to her. There is no formal deadline, though the county would like to receive them before Feb. 27.
Decisions on which licenses to approve—up to two are allowed in West Marin and two in East Marin—will be made by the county administrator, Matthew Hymel, likely at some point in April.
The advisory committee meeting is on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Lagunitas School multipurpose room (1 Lagunitas School Road), in San Geronimo. Written comments can be submitted at marincounty.org/main/medicalcannabis/public-comment-form.