The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary that opened without
city permission a few weeks ago was cited twice last week for not
allowing building inspectors to examine the dispensary, according
to the city.
The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary that opened without city permission a few weeks ago was cited twice last week for not allowing building inspectors to examine the dispensary, according to the city.
Goyko Kuburovich, 49, who goes by Batzi, was arrested and immediately released 11:07 a.m. Nov. 23 and 11:54 a.m. Tuesday at the dispensary, 1321-B First St., according to police logs. Kuburovich twice did not allow city inspectors onto the property, City Administrator Tom Haglund wrote in an e-mail to council members. However, he eventually did allow inspectors onto the property.
Kuburovich specifically was cited for failing to allow an inspection related to building improvements that took place without a permit before the dispensary opened Nov. 9. The police arrest log stated that Kuburovich was arrested for willful disobedience of a court order. However, it did not specify what court order Kuburovich violated.
Kuburovich did not return calls seeking comment on Monday.
The city initially issued a warrant on Nov. 19, giving MediLeaf 24 hours notice of the first inspection, city administrator Tom Haglund said. However, MediLeaf was closed on Nov. 20 when inspectors arrived, he said.
Inspectors came to the dispensary again on Nov. 23, issuing Kuburovich with an inspection warrant, Haglund said. Kuburovich prevented inspectors from looking at about 25 percent of the building at that time.
The city then obtained a forcible entry warrant calling for the full inspection of the facility Tuesday, and Kuburovich was issued another citation for refusing the full inspection the previous day. At that time, the MediLeaf director allowed inspectors to look at the building. Although some code violations were found, none of them affected health and safety issues and the city is in the process of preparing a notice of violation, Haglund said.
Gartman said he was disappointed that MediLeaf operators did not initially allow city inspectors to look at their entire building, but he also wondered why police were involved in a code enforcement issue.
“I’m very disappointed because I don’t think the city should try to intimidate a business owner,” Gartman said.
Haglund said that police only got involved last week after a warrant had been issued.
Gartman plans to request that the City Council discuss MediLeaf’s attempts to obtain a business license and a conditional use permit at a City Council meeting Monday.
At that same meeting, Glen View Elementary School Parent Club President Karin Clements plans to present a petition to the council supporting the council’s decision to close the dispensary. Clements is not concerned about medical marijuana in general but by the fact that MediLeaf is operating without a building permit, said she. Ninety-five people have signed the petition thus far, she said.
Meanwhile, MediLeaf has drummed up plenty of supporters of its own, packing the City Council chambers with advocates during the council’s Nov. 16 meeting. Many people testified how the dispensary has helped them with medical problems. MediLeaf’s Twitter site on Saturday announced that it had obtained nearly 600 members, up from 375 about a week before.
A legal battle between the City of Gilroy and a MediLeaf officially got rolling Nov. 20 after the city filed court documents to shut down the medical marijuana dispensary.
On Nov. 23, Judge Mary Jo Levinger denied a temporary restraining that would have shut down the dispensary. However, Levinger plans to hold a hearing on Dec. 14 to decide whether to grant the city an injunction to shut down the cannabis collective.
