Two medical marijuana dispensaries on El Cajon Boulevard have been ordered to shut down. NBC 7’s Sherene Tagharobi reports on Nov. 19, 2014.
Two San Diego marijuana dispensaries on El Cajon Boulevard have been given 24 hours to shutter their operations.
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith says Green Urban Association and the Bakery Collective are operating illegally in zones where a city ordinance forbids medical marijuana cooperatives.
Located behind the SD Smoke Shop and with no exterior signage, Green Urban Association has been operating in North Park since at least Aug. 2013, the city alleges.
Green Urban Association, which sits at 3140 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park, is about two blocks from the Children’s Creative and Performing Arts School and is across the street from the Father Joe’s Villages Boulevard Apartments.
According to Goldsmith, the operators face another violation for operating a marijuana dispensary within 600 feet of a school.
He said the property owners are already under permanent injunction not to maintain a dispensary there or anywhere else in the city.
“They're making money off of this by renting to these dispensaries, and I will tell them, it's going to cost them more when I get done with them. So I would suggest they rent to a legal use,” said Goldsmith.
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The dispensary has posted the court order on its front door.
Property owners of the Bakery Collective, located at 6559 El Cajon Boulevard in the College Area, have already settled with city, agreeing to pay investigative costs and civil penalties.
However, people were still seen coming and going from the business Wednesday while security guard stood outside.
More than 200 unpermitted marijuana dispensaries have been closed down through the city attorney in the last four years. Just last week, a dispensary in Mission Valley was ordered to shut down.
Despite raid and court orders, the City Attorney’s Office is continually chasing dispensaries that simply pop up in another location.
“They're basically sticking their nose out to council and the neighborhood and saying we're gonna do whatever we want...have to enforce our laws,” Goldsmith said.
A maximum of 36 dispensaries are allowed within San Diego limits, given certain restrictions, but those shops need permits to be legal.
In 2011, the city ramped up its efforts to file lawsuits against property owners and dispensary operators violating the city’s zoning regulations.
“When we see an effort to play whack ‘em all, we give that special effort,” said Goldsmith. “They're special problems, and we will hold them to a higher standard as far as our remedies.”
