Anderson officials warn collective owners, landlord

Anderson City Attorney Ann Siprelle has officially notified Joe and Gina Munday, owners of the Green Heart, a medical marijuana collective in Anderson, as well as the property’s landlord, that the collective is now operating in violation of the city’s recently enacted zoning ordinance that prohibits any such activity.

The ordinance took effect Nov. 3 and notices were mailed out in advance of that date, city officials revealed last week.

“Clearly, it is our intention to enforce the ordinance,” Siprelle said in announcing the action. “I also sent a letter to the landlord explaining they could also face litigation under federal law for renting to a business that dispenses medical marijuana.”

“If they don’t comply soon, we will be filing our own lawsuit,” Siprelle said in a telephone interview late Thursday, Nov. 10.

So far, the Mundays continue to operate their collective and adjoining garden center in violation of the city’s ban.

“We are still open and operating,” store manager Elizabeth Munday announced Monday, Nov. 14. “We have done no harm and we have full confidence in our attorney, who has recently overturned similar bans in four California cities,” she added.

Through attorney James DeAguilara of Redlands, collective owners Joe and Gina Munday have filed a lawsuit against the city of Anderson and are seeking in excess of $25,000 in legal fees and damages.

They are also asking a Shasta County Superior Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order against the city’s enforcement of the ban until the matter can be heard in court.

A hearing is set for Jan. 30, although city officials consider the Munday’s lawsuit not be valid since the city was never properly served with court papers notifying the city of the lawsuit, Siprelle said last week.

“The Mundays simply dropped a bundle of paperwork on Dana Shigley’s desk and there was no official proof of service form filed with the court,” Siprelle noted.

For their part, the Mundays do believe the city was properly served and note that the city should have contacted their attorney instead of sending notices out to their landlord and the store.

“The city knew we had retained a lawyer, so we ended up forwarding the notice to our attorney,” Elizabeth Munday said. “We have no intention of halting distribution of medical cannabis to our patients who rely on us to provide them with their medicine.”

The city’s relationship with the Green Hart collective has been tenuous ever since the collective opened its doors three days before the city instituted a 90-day emergency moratorium on just such activities back in July 2009.

The city extended its temporary moratorium as long as it could, then enacted a zoning ordinance fully prohibiting collectives, co-operatives and dispensaries of medical marijuana within city limits.