Judge denies request to hold special vote on marijuana

An Orange County Superior Court judge this week denied an emergency request to force Costa Mesa to hold a special election regarding whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

Fullerton attorney Randall Longwith, who authored a marijuana petition certified last year, had sought to have Costa Mesa hold the vote within the next month or so instead of waiting until November 2016, when it would coincide with the election of City Council members.

Judge Peter Wilson denied his request Tuesday, though another motion that could force a special election is still pending in court. A hearing for Longwith’s preliminary injunction is scheduled for April 16.

In December, the City Council effectively postponed Longwith’s petition for nearly two years on the basis that it contained a new general tax. The council contended that under the state Constitution, amended by Proposition 218 in 1996, a general tax could not be placed before Costa Mesa voters in a special election and would have to wait until the next general election, in 2016.

That delay is being challenged by Longwith and David R. Welch, a Los Angeles attorney representing a client whose similar marijuana petition was also certified last year and delayed by the council for the same reason.

Costa Mesa has not legally permitted marijuana dispensaries since 2005, though many still flourished until 2012, when federal raids forced their closure.

—Bradley Zint

Twitter: @bradleyzint