Businesses oppose pot shop on Larchmont Blvd.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY is slated to open in the Village.
Residents have joined with Larchmont Blvd. business owners to halt a marijuana medical dispensary from opening on Larchmont Blvd.
Set to open at 215 N. Larchmont, above Alternative Apparel and Hamburger Hamlet, pot shop owners say they have no criminal incidents or complaints in seven years of operation. They were previously on Sunset Blvd. and had to move because the building was being renovated.
Attorneys for CantoDiem said the Larchmont site would include 20 security cameras and a full-time guard, and credit card processing will also be featured.
It’s exactly the type of business the owners of cupcake and coffee shops, clothing stores and realty offices oppose.
“Larchmont Village is arguably the most family-centered city block in Los Angeles,” the Larchmont Boulevard Association wrote in a letter last month to city Attorney Mike Feuer. “Beyond our emotional response of protecting our village, we also firmly believe that CantoDiem is in clear violation of Prop D requirements,” the letter continued.
Passed by voters last spring, Proposition D requires dispensaries to be 600 feet from a “youth center.” Several places on the block qualify, the letter stated, including a book store hosting a weekly story time for children, two toy stores, a yoga studio with classes for minors and two counseling offices for children and adolescents.
At a recent community meeting, Councilman Tom LaBonge urged the pot shop owner to find a location away from the family-friendly street. “It’s wrong for the neighborhood and will deter businesses from leasing on Larchmont,” said Tom Kneafsey, chairman of the Larchmont Property Owners Business Improvement District.
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