Judge: No county zoning rules apply to medical pot shops

Anyone looking to open a medical marijuana dispensary in unincorporated parts of Maricopa County no longer needs zoning approval from the county, a judge ruled last week.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon’s Nov. 20 ruling follows a determination he made in October that county officials did not satisfactorily amend zoning rules in a way that would allow a dispensary to open in Sun City. In December 2012, Gordon ordered the county to make such changes as part of a larger ruling in a lawsuit brought by the proposed dispensary.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montogmery, whose office has defended county officials, has opposed the state’s medical marijuana program since voters narrowly approved it in 2010.

Gordon ruled that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act was not preempted by federal law, as Montgomery had argued, and zoning applications for prospective dispensaries must be processed and zoning regulations could not be overly restrictive.

Montgomery appealed the ruling on the preemption question. That case awaits a hearing. But minor changes the county made to its medical marijuana zoning rules did not meet Gordon’s expectations.

Because the county failed to follow the court’s order from last year, Gordon explained, and because the judge decided to strike the county’s attempt to comply with that order, “there are no Maricopa County zoning ordinances in effect for medical marijuana dispensaries as a matter of law.”

Gordon went on to order the Arizona Department of Health Services to process the prospective Sun City dispensary owner’s dispensary application without any regard to the county’s zoning restrictions or ordinances, “because there are none.”

The ruling, which was tailored for the White Mountain Health Center, has implications for anyone who looking for the required zoning approval from the county, instead of a municipality.

Health Department Director Will Humble said his agency could quickly advance the White Mountain Health Center’s application to the next administrative step. That would allow the pot dispensary to begin building their location.

The only zoning regulation that will apply for them, or any other medical marijuana dispensary opening in unincorporated county land, is the restriction from opening within 500 feet of a school. That was written into the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.

Beyond that, all zoning requirements and restrictions for dispensaries were relegated to the municipality or county of the dispensary.