ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Board of Zoning Adjustment on Thursday voted 4-0, denying the application for a medical marijuana dispensary near Edgewater High School.
Under Orange County Code, dispensaries can’t be within 500 feet of a school. The proposed medical marijuana dispensary would have been 338 feet from school property.
The applicant requested a variance in code because the dispensary would be 338 feet away from the school’s agricultural building, not the main campus. However, the zoning board denied that request.
The proposal received mixed reaction from residents in the area. Some pointed to the fact that a liquor store already sits across from Edgewater High.
However, the liquor store property falls under city jurisdiction, not county jurisdiction like the dispensary. Ordinances also vary when comparing dispensaries to liquor stores.
A city spokesperson said the liquor store was built in accordance with city code and zoning. Edgewater High School expanded following the liquor store being built in 1999.