A dispensary had its plans to open in Costa Mesa shot down on appeal Aug. 1 by the Costa Mesa City Council after the city’s planning commission rejected the marijuana shop in May.
The council backed the planning commission’s denial in a 5–2 vote, with Mayor John Stephens and Councilman Jeffrey Harlan voting in favor of the dispensary’s approval.
During the meeting, a co-owner of From The Earth USA, which has locations in Santa Ana, Port Hueneme, and five shops in Missouri, argued that the planning commission’s denial was based on concerns that a hair salon would be displaced if the dispensary was approved, which, the representative said, was false.
“It was an overwhelming response from the community, in objection to our store, based on the concept that we were displacing Angel’s Beauty Salon,” the owner said.
The owner of the salon allegedly misunderstood the landlord, who said her business would actually be moved to a better part of the building—not out, according to the dispensary operator.
“[The landlord] was actually going to take Angel’s Beauty Salon and give her a better space in the building. … So in our mind, she was always going to be moved to someplace that was going to be better for her,” he said.
During the May planning commission meeting, over 10 residents spoke against the dispensary due to the displacement.
But some on the council during its recent discussion on the issue said they were more concerned over philanthropic donations the marijuana store has made to youth organizations.
Those donations include 5,000 backpacks for children in Santa Ana, funding to the Port Hueneme Police Explorers—for teens interested in law enforcement and affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America—and other youth programs totaling $200,000 in 2022, according to the dispensary owner.
“The fact that that was considered a bad thing was a little bit surprising to us,” he said.
Councilman Don Harper likened the donations to the tobacco industry targeting youth, which the dispensary owner denied.
“That’s not our intention, but we do as a company have philanthropic DNA. We like to try and help our community,” he said.
The company also made donations to first responders and received an endorsement from the police chief in Port Hueneme, according to the owner.
“When the pandemic was happening, we shut down our manufacturing facility to create hand sanitizer, which we donated to fire departments and police departments across southern California,” the owner said.
But Mr. Harper said he viewed the donations as promotional tools.
“I have a hard time understanding how a company separates the donation from marketing,” he said.
Residents during public comment said they were also concerned over the proximity of the proposed dispensary’s location to two other nearby pot shops, both of which are within 1,000 feet of the proposed new shop, with one sharing the same parking lot.
“Costa Mesa is a wonderful town, a beautiful community, and a great aesthetic, and we shouldn’t have a proliferation of these types of facilities,” one resident said.
Another argued the same of the dispensary, which was proposed for the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue.
“I can ask all of you right here. Can you name one intersection of any cities around here like Irvine, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach ... name me one intersection that has three large dispensaries,” the resident said.
Regarding the clustering of the stores, the dispensary operator argued it sometimes works to the benefit of the marijuana shops instead of competing with one another.
“Cannabis stores do tend to congregate and they cluster because of the zoning issues. But we’ve found that it’s more like a food court situation … they tend to help each other out,” he said.
But another resident said that’s exactly what some fear.
“If you start gathering there, it’s going to be a food court. There are a lot of residents and people that have that concern,” the resident said, who added it was the first time they had ever given public comment on an issue before the council.
Councilman Harlan, who seconded the motion by Mayor Stephens to approve the store, said he supported approving it since the displacement of another business was untrue and that youth organizations have the freedom to decline donations.
“It’s up to a youth organization if they in fact want to affiliate. It’s by no means mandated,” he said.
Mr. Stephens additionally referenced Measure Q—which legalized the regulation of retail marijuana stores in commercial areas of the city in 2020.
“Sixty-five percent of the voters voted to allow these uses and they voted to allow uses in commercial zones,” he said. “I don’t see any basis as a matter of land use for denying this application. There’s not an issue of parking. There’s not an issue of safety.”
Towards the close of the meeting, which ran past midnight, councilors additionally voted to discuss at its next meeting an amendment to the city’s cannabis ordinance targeting the overconcentration of such stores.
According to staff, the city currently has seven cannabis storefronts and seven delivery-only businesses.
