Pot dispensary in cross hairs

Stanislaus County supervisors voted in closed session Tuesday evening to take legal action to shut down a medical marijuana dispensary near Oakdale.

The unanimous vote supports an April 9 county complaint filed in Superior Court against Kiona’s Farm’acy in the 7400 block of River Road near Highway 120. The lawsuit asks the court to order the defendants to shut the dispensary and pay $2,500 in civil penalties and costs of the lawsuit.

Defendants named in the lawsuit include Kiona Foundation Inc., Lakisha Katerris Jenkins, Floria Firoosmand and Farzin Firoosmand. They could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

County Counsel John Doering said the business sells holistic products and also makes medical marijuana available. He said county leaders took action because they don’t want to encourage medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated area.

A county ordinance prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries from operating unless they are specifically authorized under state and federal law.

In another item, supervisors approved a rezoning for a grocery store in traffic-congested downtown Salida. The building that formerly housed the sheriff’s substation on Broadway Avenue will be replaced with an 8,800-square-foot, full-service market.

Supervisor Dick Monteith said the grocery store could be an anchor for further development of Salida’s downtown.

Board member Vito Chiesa said he would have preferred to see more parking at the business but added that it was easy for him to approve the permit.

Some residents have suggested the store will cause additional traffic delays on Broadway by attracting delivery trucks and pedestrians who will cross the street to patronize it. The project architect said trucks will make two deliveries per day, using an alley behind the business.

Walid Ali, managing partner for the store, said it will sell grocery products, meats, fresh produce, bakery goods and deli items. The owners, who will purchase the property from Cardoza Bettencourt Investments, plan to demolish the front of the building and make it twice the current size. The architectural treatments on the front will include a canopy.

The business will have eight diagonal parking spaces on Broadway and the same number on Curtis Street, plus two spaces on-site. The store will have about 20 employees.

In another item, supervisors voted to schedule an Aug. 25 mail election on increasing the special tax in the Burbank Paradise Fire Protection District. The fire district serving west Modesto and a rural area south of the Tuolumne River proposes a $27 increase in the annual tax assessed to property owners.

The increase would set the tax at $75 for homeowners, $100 for rental homes and $150 for commercial property. Two-thirds voter approval is required.

Chief Mike Hillar said before Tuesday’s meeting that the additional revenue is needed to improve the fire station on Beverly Drive and pay for general operations and maintenance.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Pot dispensary in cross hairs."