Just hours before the city of Santa Barbara on Tuesday approved a moratorium on new medical-marijuana dispensaries, Santa Barbara County officials took a step in a similar direction.

The Board of Supervisors asked county counsel to draft an ordinance that would put in a place a countywide moratorium on dispensaries in unincorporated areas.

According to staff reports, the county’s land use and development code doesn’t list dispensaries as an allowed use, and doesn’t define them either.

Jurisdictions from around the state are wrestling with the conflict between state and federal law on the issue, and the city of Santa Barbara’s decision comes after months of public comment.

That moratorium states that city storefront dispensaries can stay open, but all other applications will not be approved or denied until a new ordinance is on the books.

The county ordinance language is expected to come back before the supervisors in mid-January.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.