Pot shop files false name, city halts construction
CANTO DIEM allegedly filed for a permit as a beauty shop.
A stop work order has put the brakes on a marijuana dispensary from planning to move into Larchmont Village.
The city Dept. of Building and Safety issued the order after finding owners of the pot shop, Canto Diem, allegedly filed for a permit under a false name and listed the business as a “beauty parlor.”
Construction has stopped at the second-floor location at 215 N. Larchmont Blvd, above Alternative Apparel and Hamburger Hamlet.
Radiance of Life, a spa downstairs, is the name the permit was allegedly filed under, though it apparently has no relation to the marijuana dispensary.
Canto Diem attorney Aaron Lachant of Fenton Nelson, LLP, would not comment.
In another snag to the shop’s impending opening are alleged Proposition D violations.
The voter-approved measure limits pot shops within 600 feet of a park, school or child-care facility and youth center.
“We believe it is illegal and in violation, and they don’t have a proper permit,” said attorney Amy Forbes of Gibson Dunn, working pro bono for the Larchmont Boulevard Association.
A city-certified map company found six youth centers within 600 feet of the proposed site.
In a letter to Canto Diem’s attorney and building owner Frank Fox, LBA attorneys noted several “youth centers” on Larchmont. Among them are Chevalier’s Books, which has hosted weekly story times for children for decades and recently implemented a Mommy and Me music class.
There are two toy stores, a yoga studio offering classes for minors and two counseling offices for children and adolescents including a substance abuse center, said Forbes.
The City Attorney’s office is considering the alleged violations and is aware of the Dept. of Building and Safety order, “but we don’t have any further comment at this time,” said spokesman Frank Mateljan.
Category: News
