Intrigue hung in the air like a puff of freshly-exhaled smoke Wednesday morning, as a City Hall hearing concerning the Oakland Community Collective’s application for a dispensary at 2101 Broadway took place.

OCC ranked number one in the application process (in which 12 hopeful medi-can dispensaries submitted applications), passed a background check and a site visit and had letters of support from an influential group, including Supervisor Nate Miley, the Friends of the Fox, UFC Local #5, the McConnell Group and Joe Haraburda.

The dispensary plans to offer “lab-tested, high-quality medical cannabis at a value,” according to Owner/ General Manager Salwa Ibrahim, and, as a not-for-profit operation, will donate capital above operating costs into job training, domestic violence programs, foreclosure assistance, reduction of city deficit and work with nonprofits whose operating budget is under $250,000 annually.

In addition, OCC plans to offer ADA-compliant tellers and bathrooms, a sidewalk concierge, a patient tracking and inventory management system, which includes allergy information, and “discreet signage.”

But a high score - which places potential operators in the top tier of applicants - doesn’t automatically ensure they will be granted a permit, Arturo Sanchez of the City Administrator’s office said. The public comments factor heavily into the process, he added.

The building’s only other tenant, the Lions Center for the Blind, raised strenuous objections, as did the nearby Paramount Theater. Tina Coffield, Lions’ communications manager, said she was “extremely concerned on the effect the dispensary might have on our ability to operate” as well as the “effects on our reputation.”

Lions, she noted, was the only rehabilitation center for the blind in Alameda County; 80 percent of its funding comes from the state and is based on the number of clients it serves.

“If clients are scared to come to the facility, we lose revenue,” she said.

Leslee Stewart, the general manager for the Paramount Theater, said the historic venue is within 300 ft. of the proposed dispensary. Among her many concerns were “loitering, littering, security, safety, parking.”

Stewart also noted that the Paramount hosts between eight and 10 high school graduations yearly, along with many children’s shows and immigration ceremonies. In addition, the 21st Street sidewalk is designated a “no idling zone,” though she admits it’s been difficult to get the city to put up signage indicating that.

“I thought the city wanted to bring people into an entertainment district. I don’t see this as being the fit,” Stewart said.

Many of the commentators remarked on Ibrahim’s upstanding moral qualities and positive contributions to the community. Carly Perez, a building manager, said she worked with Ibrahim on the Great Wall of Oakland. As a result of that project, she “was able to take graffiti abatement out of my 2012 budget.”

But Kee Lan Kelly, a former employee of OCC’s business partner, Derek Anderson, said Anderson “exemplified everything that could be wrong with the cannabis industry” and was only in it for the money.

Matthew Whitmeyer, a representative for Local No. 5, said the union was excited about OCC, which he said would bring “industry-leading wages and benefits” and create jobs for the community. He went on to say, “I think it’s unfortunate how some speakers have painted sick people - patients - as potential criminals,” noting there were “dozens” of liquor stores and pharmacies in a five-to-10 block radius of the proposed location, which present greater health risks than cannabis dispensaries.

Attorney Robert Raich, who represents OCC, opined that the “objection of some speakers has to do with the policy [legalizing medical cannabis].” However, he noted, that policy has already been addressed by California voters and the Oakland City Council. The location was attractive, he said, because it’s close to public transportation and major thoroughfares and would likely cause an uptick in business in the area.

After Sanchez directed follow-up questions at Ibrahim and Anderson, the two expressed a willingness to work with the Lions center and the Paramount to address their concerns. Medical marijuana patients, Anderson said, ”shouldn’t have to travel to industrial complex outlying areas” which are “unsafe for patients.” His mother, he added, was a medical marijuana patient herself, having been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Sanchez appeared to listen intently when Anderson informed him that two-third’s of Berkeley’s medical marijuana patient base comes from Oakland, a loss in potential revenue he estimated at between $10 million and $14 million.

“We want to bring that money back in, but to do that, we can’t push everything out to East and West Oakland,” Anderson said.

“We don’t know what they could possibly do to ensure our clients that it’s a safe area,” Coffield said, following the hearing. The blind center’s objections, she added, “were all based on the public’s perception of marijuana, and we don’t know that our senior clients or our parents of children who are clients are going to accept that, just because they’re reputable dispensary that it’s okay for them to come [into the same building].”

Lions center director of employment services Dennis Rojas noted that he himself voted for Proposition 215 - which legalized medical marijuana use in the state of California - but said it’s a different story when a dispensary moves into your building. His concern is “the perception of what the building’s going to be known for.”

Ibrahim said she felt that the process has been fair and open to the public, while Anderson said, “we appreciate the feedback,” adding that “it’s important to hear what the Lions [Center] had to say, what the Paramount had to say.”

Unlike southern California, Anderson said,"You have a big patient base here and not a lot of facilities. That’s why I’m saying, we’re losing revenue to San Francisco and Berkeley ... . We need dispensaries in downtown Oakland. We can’t keep pushing these entities into outlying industrial areas. It’s not fair to patient bases.”

Not only do West and East Oakland have disproportionate amounts of crime, but aren’t as well-policed or safe as the downtown, Anderson added.

Eleven more hearings on cannabis dispensary permits are scheduled to be held, up to Jan. 9, after which time, the City Administrator’s office will make its final decision on which four permit applications are granted.