The medical cannabis draft ordinance will be brought up for adoption before the City Council on Sept. 27, according to a July 26 memorandum provided by City Planner Dusty Duley.
Assuming development of environmental review documents and the drafting of the ordinance continue uninterrupted, the city staff first plans on bringing the ordinance before council for introduction on Sept. 13, reads the memo. The city is looking forward to the much needed revenue expected from the industry, but the lack of experience in medical marijuana regulation and small staff leaves room for big questions.
“It’s a new frontier, there’s a lot of things we don’t know,” Councilwoman Madge Strong said via phone interview. “But from my perspective it’s long overdue, certainly for medical and also for recreational marijuana.” City Planner Dusty Duley released a memorandum of updates last week, laying out the next steps required to bring the ordinance to adoption and begin issuing permits. The city has yet to approve the final version of the ordinance and approve the California Environmental Quality Act documents.
However, local leaders and city staff hope the medical marijuana industry will help improve the local economy, especially since the Highway 101 bypass appears to have brought the anticipated loss in city revenues. If all goes as planned, the medical cannabis ordinance will be approved at the Sept. 27 Council meeting, according to the staff report.
It then says that following adoption, the staff would begin accepting cannabis applications by Oct. 30. “At this point I’m confident we’ll meet those deadlines,” Duley said. “It’s important to the department.” Aubrey Karcey, owner of Emerald River Nursery, said Willits needs this ordinance to pass and it would benefit the city. “It’s kinda like the saving grace for our little town,” he said, over the phone.
He works with more than 280 farmers in the area, mostly cannabis growers, and vegetable farmers and wineries, he said. With the ordinance coming, he added that what the area really needs is a central processing unit to help successfully get the product from farmers to a consumer. “A lot of companies are interested in what we’re producing,” he said. In an effort to issue individual cannabis permits before the state cannabis permit process begins, they expect to process complete applications in a two to three week period, according to the memorandum. As stated in the current draft ordinance, applications will be approved based on a “merit list,” or on how well the applicant meets the requirements.
Duley said he plans to hold training sessions for applicants in order to facilitate the application process for both the department and those seeking permits. He added that his office receives a few calls a week from people interested in starting medical marijuana businesses in town.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to see all these vacant buildings being used for new projects, to see new jobs and tax revenues and all that good stuff?” Duley said. In the meantime, the city staff will work on preparing the permit applications, “educating prospective applicants, communicating with City staff on expected roles in cannabis permit process, and developing fees to recommend for Council adoption,” reads the document.
Since the ordinance was last brought before council for adjustments, the only significant change was creating a restriction for how large the dispensaries can be. “Before, there was no cap,” Duley said. “They were concerned about having the ‘Walmart’ of dispensaries.” As for additional changes, they are working on few minor adjustments he said.
Bill Barksdale, local realtor and revitalization committee member, via phone interview, commented on the challenges the City faces ahead in drafting the ordinance. “Seems to me in general they’re trying to get a handle on a very difficult situation,” he said. “Everybody’s ordinances are different and they’re not meshing, and that’s a big problem.”
Another concern Strong mentioned was the debate over how often a permit should be renewed. As the draft ordinance is currently, permits must be renewed after the first year. Strong suggested that permits last longer to give investors a sense of stability while making such large investments, she said.
According to Duley, businesses will have to renew their permit after the first year. He said it’s a way of ensuring the responsibility of new businesses as they bring a new product into town. From that point on, each will be dealt with on a case by case basis, he said, adding that he expects the Council to discuss the details further.
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