Marin County Administrator Matthew Hymel will not approve licensing any of the 10 proposed medical marijuana dispensaries in the county, and instead announced Monday he is recommending county supervisors rethink the entire licensing process.

Also, the board should consider a mobile delivery-only system, he said.

“This decision illustrates the challenge in finding the right combination of operator and location to provide patients with safe access to medical cannabis locally,” Hymel said.

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His announcement comes after years of discussion that culminated last May, when the Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance that would allow up to four medical cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated Marin. The board gave Hymel the job of selecting the dispensaries.

County staff and a volunteer advisory committee oversaw three public meetings earlier this year, during which 10 applicants made their pitches.

Of the 10 applications, eight were in the Highway 101 corridor zone and two were in the Central/West Marin zone. The 101 corridor applications included three in the Black Point area east of the Novato city limits, one in Santa Venetia near the San Rafael city limits, and four in the Tam Shoreline area between Mill Valley and Sausalito. The Central/West Marin applications included one in San Geronimo Valley and one in Marshall.

One constant at all three meetings: sizable groups of vocal opponents who said they did not want a dispensary near their homes.

Hymel has notified all 10 applicants that he is not approving their applications. He plans to recommend that supervisors consider a revised medical cannabis ordinance that would disconnect the selection of the operator from the location.

Under this approach, the county would give provisional approval to a group of applicants, who would then have to secure a site before being considered for a license.

Hymel said he will also recommend that the board consider a delivery-only dispensary model “to address concerns raised by residents at public meetings and via submission of written comments.”

Under the county’s existing ordinance, a licensed dispensary must be at least 800 feet from schools, public parks, smoke shops and other cannabis dispensaries to qualify for a license.

Sabrina Fendrick, a spokeswoman for Marin Community Partners, which was seeking to open a dispensary at 9 and 11 Harbor Drive in Novato, said, “Naturally, we’re really disappointed. It’s been a challenging process. There has been a lot of community feedback across the spectrum, from support to total opposition. We’re looking at all our options right now.”

Salwa Ibrahim, a spokesman for Shoreline Health Center, which sought to open a dispensary at 200 Shoreline Highway in Mill Valley, said her group would likely continue to seek a license despite the shifting regulatory environment.

Amos Klausner of San Geronimo, who opposed the three applications in his community, said he saw no point in decoupling the selection of an operator from its location.

Klausner said that would fail to address the root problem, which is that smaller, unincorporated communities are being asked to accept cannabis dispensaries that have been banned by all of Marin’s municipalities.

As for the suggestion of a delivery-only model, Klausner said, “Of all of the options that are out there, that is something that I’d be more amenable to considering.”

The county medical cannabis program does not address the use or sale of recreational cannabis.

California voters passed Proposition 64 in November. It allows for the sale, regulation, taxation, growth and transportation of cannabis for recreational use.

Under an ordinance passed by the board in February, recreational cannabis businesses are not permitted anywhere in the unincorporated areas of Marin.