Costa Mesa pot shop denied for proximity to drug recovery, counseling services wins appeal

When South Coast Safe Access came before the Costa Mesa Planning Commission in November seeking to open a cannabis dispensary at 2001 Harbor Blvd. they were denied, largely because drug counseling services were already being offered at the site.

Commissioners deemed a retail cannabis store would be an incompatible use for three ground floor suites at the property, given that Yellowstone Recovery was operating on the second floor.

They further claimed the dispensary could be materially detrimental to clients served by Yellowstone as well as First Step House, a sober living facility for men on Charle Street, directly behind the building.

That Nov. 28 determination was the second retail cannabis enterprise to be denied in Costa Mesa, where voters approved Measure Q two years earlier. Another dispensary proposed for 1072 Bristol St. was denied in August.

But the ruling did not stand. On Tuesday, the Costa Mesa City Council overturned the commission decision, granting an appeal filed by South Coast Safe Access and allowing it to move forward with plans for a 3,720-square-foot retail operation.

Costa Mesa planning commissioners claimed in November a cannabis dispensary at 2001 Harbor Blvd., would be incompatible with drug recovery counseling services on site. The owners appealed the decision to the City Council Tuesday and won.

(Sara Cardine)

The operators of Yellowstone Recovery have since been informed they must relocate as of April 30, after being notified by the building’s landlord the business’ lease would not be extended past a Dec. 31 end date.

Patrick Munoz, an attorney representing owner David DeWyke and partner Robert Taft Jr., challenged the commission decision on the grounds that Costa Mesa never designated sober living homes or drug counseling services as sensitive uses, for which a distance buffer from a dispensary would be required.

Such protections exist only for K-12 schools, playgrounds, child daycare centers and homeless shelters.

“Your planning commissioners got really hung up on the existence of Yellowstone,” Munoz told the council Tuesday. “[But] it is not a sensitive use under your ordinance, so it’s not something that was focused on when the project was before the commission.”

Munoz claimed South Coast Safe Access — the first enterprise to open a legal retail cannabis store in Santa Ana in 2015 — would benefit the largely vacant property, offering a stable tenancy and $2 million in site improvements.

“If you grant this application, you will have a vibrant business contributing meaningfully to your tax base, promoting opportunities for residents to have jobs and serving your community.”

Several community members spoke in favor of the commission’s decision, claiming Costa Mesa’s rules for how many pot shops may go up and where are too loose.

“You didn’t think about the proximity to residents, as one was proposed to be put in our backyard,” said resident Linda Ranck. “It wasn’t considered that [SCSA] was in the same building as a rehab facility — now it sounds like the rehab facility is being evicted or displaced to make room for that.”

Council members mainly said they saw the retail shop as a good fit for Harbor Boulevard, where another dispensary, 420 Central, owned by Taft, already operates across the street.

“The applicant has a right to rely on the law, and our ordinance is, in fact, a law not subject to being changed by fiat,” said Mayor John Stephens, who sat on an ad hoc committee that developed the rules.

“We can’t change that on the fly,” he continued. “There is no reason or no basis to deny this application. Zero. None.”

The council voted 5-1 to grant the appeal (Councilman Don Harper was absent). Councilwoman Andrea Marr cast the lone dissenting vote.

“Until such time as there no longer a counseling facility at that location, I find [a dispensary] to be substantially incompatible,” she said.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.