Supes panel OKs a grace period for pot clubs

Whether you like 'em or whether you hate 'em, pot clubs will remain open in residential neighborhoods for at least another year, say the 'Supes.

From today's SFGate,

A Board of Supervisors committee voted Wednesday to relax the city's new medical marijuana regulations to give pot clubs operating in residential neighborhoods a grace period before they have to shut down and relocate.

An ordinance passed in November establishing rules for where cannabis outlets can be located, how they are run and by whom restricts them to commercial and industrial areas.

The proposed change -- approved by the supervisors' Land Use Committee and sent to the full board for the first of two votes on Tuesday -- would give clubs in residential areas at least a year longer to remain in business while searching for a new location. [more...]

And without knowing the location of every pot club currently in the city, I've ONLY seen them in residential neighborhoods... Which likely means that the legitimately available geographic options for the businesses will be sparse, and many of them may end up having a tough time finding space... Remember, there are still homes, schools, churches, and businesses in or near many of these commercial areas, and you can count on the NIMBYs nearby residents to complain ask lots of questions about the new clubs moving into their neighborhood.

The closest one to my house is four blocks away, so I have no issue with them personally. But folks that live on/near the Divisadero corridor where there are FIVE of them, have a long list of reasons why they don't belong in residential areas... So that brings up the question of what constitutes a commercial/industrial location... Wouldn't Divisadero (b/t McAllister and Haight) be considered a commercial corridor? Wouldn't those be allowed to stay?

Lower Haight residents angered by rezoning plan [SFHomeBlog]