San Jose Plans Zoning Rules for Pot Clubs

In a move that may make it the first city to treat marijuana clubs like any other businesses, San Jose has proposed zoning rules that regulate where pot can be grown and sold.

City officials Tuesday announced “medical marijuana dispensary” rules that would allow pot clubs to operate in commercial areas and grow marijuana on site.

However, marijuana smoking would be banned on the premises because city law prohibits smoking of any kind inside public buildings and offices.

“We are not following the San Francisco model,” City Atty. Joan Gallo said of the no-smoking policy.

In addition, no juveniles would be allowed on the premises, and the city would require club operators to document their transactions.

Although the clubs would not be allowed in residential areas or near schools, churches, homes or day care centers, Gallo said the proposal is an attempt to abide by last year’s Proposition 215, the voter-approved ballot measure that legalized the use and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes.

“The chief of police, the district attorney and the city are all determined to enforce the law in a humanitarian way,” Gallo said. “We have no intention of making it difficult to comply with Proposition 215 . . . but it has to be done in a way that does not create problems for residents in their communities.”

The ordinance goes before San Jose’s council March 25.