A new retail cannabis store was denied a location at 2001 Harbor Boulevard on Nov. 28 after a 4–2 vote by Costa Mesa’s Planning Commission, with commissioners Russell Toler  and Diane Russell dissenting, and commissioner Jon Zich absent.
The denial comes after commissioners raised concerns about the location of a counseling center, which, in part, treats those with substance abuse, near the proposed store’s desired location.
“It just doesn’t make sense to put a retail storefront that is essentially selling a drug … immediately adjacent to a counseling center where people are recovering from the abuse of said product,” Commission Chair Byron de Arakal said during the meeting….