San Francisco supervisors split over cannabis land‑use rules as Jan. 1 deadline looms

SAN FRANCISCO — The Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee spent much of a single hearing wrestling with how to turn voter approval of adult cannabis into local rules that balance access, neighborhood character and equity.

Acting Chair Aaron Peskin opened the meeting by urging patience and breadth: “I would rather get this thing done right,” he said, arguing against a hurried fix to meet the state’s Jan. 1, 2018, implementation timeline.

Why it matters: The committee is drafting a planning-code ordinance to regulate where adult‑use cannabis businesses may locate, whether and how existing medical cannabis dispensaries (MCDs) can convert to adult retail, and how to protect equity applicants who were disproportionately affected by past enforcement. A central dispute is whether to use a 600‑foot buffer — the state’s suggested baseline — or a 1,000‑foot buffer from schools and other sensitive uses, and whether to include daycare centers in the definition of sensitive uses.

Supervisor London Breed, sitting in as committee president, warned that a patchwork of district‑by‑district caps and expanded buffers could ‘‘significantly reduce or even eliminate any new opportunities’’ for equity applicants and…