Orange County Fair Board members moved a step closer to banning marijuana-related events at the OC Fair & Event Center during a meeting Thursday, Jan. 25.

The 7-0 vote — vice-chairman Robert Ruiz and board member Gerardo Mouet were absent — centered on concerns over the proximity of events to homes and schools, said board member Stan Tkaczyk.

“In my mind, we are close to schools and we do have an option to be an island and away from it, but we also want to be good neighbors,” Tkaczyk said.

Calls to board members Sandra Cervantes, Ashleigh Aitken and Nick Berardino were not immediately returned.

Staff will present a formal policy on the matter to the board at a later meeting.

Fairgrounds throughout the state are free to permit marijuana-related events at their discretion, however, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has outlined some guidelines.

Those include adhering to laws barring medical marijuana use within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare or youth center, or recreational area where minors congregate; and that attendees of such events where marijuana products are sold be at least 21.

The Fair & Event Center is within walking distance of several schools, including Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa High School, Davis Magnet School, Vanguard University and TeWinkle Park, effectively prohibiting the state-owned fairgrounds from hosting such events.

Other venues in the region do permit marijuana-related programs, such as High Times magazine’s SoCal Cannabis Cup at the National Orange Show Events Center and the Blaze ‘N’ Glory music festival at the San Manuel Amphitheater at Glen Helen Regional Park, both in San Bernardino County.

Exceptions include the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, arguably the biggest concert festival of the year, which prohibits marijuana possession.

Costa Mesa has long resisted the marijuana industry from encroaching on its borders.

The City Council voted last year to keep its regulations prohibiting marijuana activities through an “emergency ordinance.”

In 2016, the city authored its own medical marijuana initiative, Measure X, to compete with two others that would have permitted up to four and eight dispensaries.

The measure allows marijuana businesses to conduct research, testing, transportation, processing and manufacturing of medical marijuana products in a northwest industrial zone.

No retail sales or dispensaries are allowed.