Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
After nearly a year since voters approved legalizing recreational cannabis, the city of Sebastopol is taking steps to update its cannabis ordinance. The update is the city’s first effort to be more aligned with new state legislation regulating both medical and recreational cannabis.
The Adult Use Marijuana Act (AUMA), approved by voters in November, and the 2-year-old Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) allow for municipalities to establish their own laws regulating the sale of cannabis. The rules allow for new cannabis businesses beyond the dispensary, including transportation, distribution, nurseries, manufacturing and laboratories. AUMA places a 15 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana while MCRSA adds between 7.5 and 10 percent sales tax to medical cannabis. Municipalities are allowed to impose additional taxes on cannabis businesses.
Exactly what the tax scheme will be and what type of businesses the city will allow will be part of a plan developed by the city’s planning commission. On Tuesday, the city council charged the planning commission with the hefty task of researching and recommending an update to the 7-year-old ordinance that currently allows for two medical cannabis dispensaries within city limits.
The planning commission will begin the discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center’s Youth Annex. The meeting is open to the public. Comments may be made at the meeting or emailed to Kenyon Webster at kwebster@cityofsebastopol.org prior to the meeting.
According to Planning Director Kenyon Webster, the meeting will serve as a kick-off to initiate discussion on the city’s current cannabis ordinance.
The city’s ordinance now allows for two dispensaries. The original ordinance only allowed for one dispensary; however, late last year the planning commission approved a zoning code amendment after a dispensary applied for a use permit to set up shop in the Southpoint Shopping Center. The city council granted the dispensary final approval, changing the city’s ordinance.
During these new discussions, the city hopes to learn from the experiences of the county and other Sonoma County cities, such as Santa Rosa and Cloverdale, which have already begun to take steps into drafting new cannabis ordinances.
“We plan to have a planner from the city of Santa Rosa and one from the county of Sonoma to provide brief overviews of their regulations and give us any advice,” Webster wrote in an email. “Our hope is that we can learn from their extensive processes and policy development on these issues, as the city works on identifying the best course of action for Sebastopol.”
This update mirrors the city’s actions in 2010 when it drafted its original ordinance. While, at the time, the city’s ordinance was known to be progressive throughout the state, it actually followed in the footsteps of Santa Rosa, which was the county’s first city to approve a medical cannabis ordinance.
The wait-and-see action was intentional, according to Mayor Una Glass.
“There a lot of people who know about the industry,” she said earlier this year. “If we move forward with something, we’ll have far more resources to move quickly.”
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Sebastopol set to update cannabis ordinance | News | sonomawest.com
Author: Amie Windsor
Contact: Contact Us | Site | sonomawest.com
Photo Credit: Ron Strider
Website: sonomawest.com | To Build a Better World, Start in Your Own Community
The Adult Use Marijuana Act (AUMA), approved by voters in November, and the 2-year-old Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) allow for municipalities to establish their own laws regulating the sale of cannabis. The rules allow for new cannabis businesses beyond the dispensary, including transportation, distribution, nurseries, manufacturing and laboratories. AUMA places a 15 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana while MCRSA adds between 7.5 and 10 percent sales tax to medical cannabis. Municipalities are allowed to impose additional taxes on cannabis businesses.
Exactly what the tax scheme will be and what type of businesses the city will allow will be part of a plan developed by the city’s planning commission. On Tuesday, the city council charged the planning commission with the hefty task of researching and recommending an update to the 7-year-old ordinance that currently allows for two medical cannabis dispensaries within city limits.
The planning commission will begin the discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center’s Youth Annex. The meeting is open to the public. Comments may be made at the meeting or emailed to Kenyon Webster at kwebster@cityofsebastopol.org prior to the meeting.
According to Planning Director Kenyon Webster, the meeting will serve as a kick-off to initiate discussion on the city’s current cannabis ordinance.
The city’s ordinance now allows for two dispensaries. The original ordinance only allowed for one dispensary; however, late last year the planning commission approved a zoning code amendment after a dispensary applied for a use permit to set up shop in the Southpoint Shopping Center. The city council granted the dispensary final approval, changing the city’s ordinance.
During these new discussions, the city hopes to learn from the experiences of the county and other Sonoma County cities, such as Santa Rosa and Cloverdale, which have already begun to take steps into drafting new cannabis ordinances.
“We plan to have a planner from the city of Santa Rosa and one from the county of Sonoma to provide brief overviews of their regulations and give us any advice,” Webster wrote in an email. “Our hope is that we can learn from their extensive processes and policy development on these issues, as the city works on identifying the best course of action for Sebastopol.”
This update mirrors the city’s actions in 2010 when it drafted its original ordinance. While, at the time, the city’s ordinance was known to be progressive throughout the state, it actually followed in the footsteps of Santa Rosa, which was the county’s first city to approve a medical cannabis ordinance.
The wait-and-see action was intentional, according to Mayor Una Glass.
“There a lot of people who know about the industry,” she said earlier this year. “If we move forward with something, we’ll have far more resources to move quickly.”
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Sebastopol set to update cannabis ordinance | News | sonomawest.com
Author: Amie Windsor
Contact: Contact Us | Site | sonomawest.com
Photo Credit: Ron Strider
Website: sonomawest.com | To Build a Better World, Start in Your Own Community
