The fate of the commercial cannabis industry in Calaveras County remained unclear on Monday, following the defeat of an initiative to enact permanent regulation on the Nov. 8 ballot and a nearly full-on replacement of the Board of Supervisors in January.
Despite uncertainty in the wake of the Measure D failure, Calaveras County Planning Director Peter Maurer said that those already in the system will be able to complete the application process, continue agriculture operations and, if certified, will have one year to operate as a legal grower even if the new board backs away from allowing regulated grows.
Those that applied and are still in the process would continue to operate under the terms of the urgency ordinance until registration expires or one year from the approval date, he said.
In Measure D, voters turned away a citizen-backed ordinance that would have established a permanent structure for regulation, administration and enforcement of commercial cannabis operations.
Although some votes have not been counted, Measure D failed by a relatively narrow margin given the number of votes reported. It was defeated by 1,566 votes out of 19,062 cast, or 10,314 opposed and 8,748 in favor, according to the Elections Department.
A new Board of Supervisors will begin discussing the current urgency ordinance that regulates the industry when it convenes in January. A decision on whether to extend the law must be made in mid-February.
Only District 4 Supervisor Mike Oliveira remains from the board that crafted the urgency ordinance in May, and his was the lone vote in opposition.
Im concerned with the enforcement component. I want immediate protection for people and I voted no and will wait until we work on the permanent version to see how this is has been addressed, he said on May 10.
District 1 Supervisor-elect Gary Tofanelli indicated on Friday an intention to delay action on enacting a permanent ordinance until a state bureaucracy to control medical marijuana takes over in 2018.
District 4 Supervisor-elect Dennis Mills said on Thursday that he is opposed to allowing cannabis farmers to continue operations unless they have completed the application process and become certified. I cant drive a car without a license, why can someone farm marijuana without one, he said.
As of Monday, only three of the more than 700 applicants have been listed as certified by the Calaveras County Planning Department.
District 2 Supervisor-elect Jack Garamendi, whose district bore the brunt of the Butte Fire and now contains the majority of cannabis farms, said in an email on Monday that he favors extending the urgency ordinance and also is in favor of building a permanent ordinance to regulate cannabis through county departments.
I think we should review what is working and what is not in the (urgency ordinance) and see what lessons we can learn. In addition, we should speak with other counties that have been going through this same process and find best practices and incorporate these findings, said Garamendi.
District 5 Supervisor-elect Clyde Clapp has indicated he is opposed to continuing the ordinance-building efforts, but could not be reached for comment since the election.
Meanwhile, Maurer, whose department has responsibility for administering and certifying commercial applicants, said that while the decision to extend the urgency ordinance was a responsibility for the Board of Supervisors, If they ask me, Ill tell them I support continuing the ordinance.
And at town hall meetings prior to the election, meetings held to build opposition to Measure D, both District Attorney Barbara Yook and Sheriff Rick DiBasilio indicated support for the county ordinance.
The urgency ordinance was done to try to put something in place, said Yook during an Oct. 12 interview. Definitely, the urgency ordinance is better (than Measure D.)
I support the urgency ordinance and I hope the board would come to me and the DA and everyone involved and find solutions that would work for everybody in the county, said DiBasilio on Monday.
Calaveras Cannabis Alliance Executive Director Caslin Tomaszewski said on Thursday that Come February, there is an increasing likelihood that people are going to be calling for an overhaul of the urgency ordinance. My general impression is the people feel something additional needs to be done that has not been done yet.
Thomaszewski said despite the unsettled nature of industry regulation and certification, I think that the core of Calaveras growers will stay a lot of us are going to stay.
He said some people could be unhappy with the status of the urgency ordinance because they see a slow pace of enforcement.
I think a lot of folks feel the urgency ordinance in not effective, he said. I believe that is the heart of the problem with the urgency ordinance. I think that it is not being enforced at a pace that is satisfying to most residents.
I hope our representatives carefully consider the data and get to the truth of things, he added.
Mark Bolger was first in line to submit his application to become a certified grower was first to be certified by the county Planning Department. He spoke from his agriculture operations, Rimrock Farms, on Thursday and was careful to step back from his role as a director of the Calaveras Cannabis Alliance.
Id be worried if the urgency ordinance wasnt renewed, said Bolger. Most of the people who have gone through the registration process intended to stay under whatever form the regulation took. Most of these people have their chips on the table with the county and the water board.
But if theres a ban or the county doesnt extend, what am I supposed to do? I have employees making a good living wage, who are putting their children in school and planning to buy houses. Do I just fire them?
And an outright ban on all commercial cannabis operations including dispensaries awaits signature approval by the Election Department and certification by the Board of Supervisors.
Clerk-Recorder Rebecca Turner said on Thursday that signatures from the Committee to Ban Commercial in Calaveras County have yet to be turned in. She said the group has until the end of the years to submit their documents.
Im waiting, she said.
If the signatures qualify and pass the elections code, a special election could be set by the Board of Supervisors as soon as March. The board could review the documents and enact the ban as soon as they are presented, or the question could be held over for the peoples decision at the polls.
Possible scenarios for cannabis farming in Calaveras County
Following the defeat of Measure D, an initiative proposed to enact permanent regulation, the future of Calaveras County cannabis regulation is unclear.
Measure C, an initiative to tax commercial cannabis cultivation, passed, though it would have no financial impact if commercial growing of marijuana is prohibited. County and cannabis industry estimates suggest the law, depending on the number of farming operations permitted, could bring as much as $20 million into the countys general fund each year.
Here are several possible scenarios that could play out over the next several months.
County authorities could extend the current urgency ordinance and move to build a permanent law to regulate and enforce personal and commercial cannabis cultivation. A mid-February vote by the Board of Supervisors is required to extend the ordinance so that county workers can write the final version for board approval.
A new board takes control in January. Only District 3 Supervisor Michael Oliveira remains from the supervisors who crafted the current urgency ordinance on May 10, and his was the lone vote against it. To extend the ordinance when a vote is due in February, the new board must find at least three members who agree. If the ordinance dies for lack of a majority vote, regulation and its now-established bureaucracy could be phased out.
The new board agrees to extend the urgency ordinance, but amends it such a way that additional registrants are either put off until 2018 or in other ways dissuaded from applying for legal status.
With a regulated commercial cannabis industry in place, the first Measure C tax bills could go out in April to hundreds of growers who have a permit of are still involved in the registration process. Billing would occur twice yearly, in spring and fall.
Enforcement of the ordinance and oversight of environmental and health codes requirements for the growers currently applying for legal status is funded by registration fees of $5,000 per applicant, each year. So far, only three growers are certified in compliance. If the urgency ordinance is not extended, dedicated funding for law and code enforcement will eventually run out as registration fees go away.
The group promoting an outright ban on all commercial cannabis operations including dispensaries says they now have enough verifiable signatures to place their initiative on the ballot for voters consideration. If the signatures are certified by the Elections Department, the board could enact the measure at a public meeting or schedule a special election. The first likely date for an election would be in May.
If a ban is enacted, either by the Board of Supervisors or by a vote in favor at a special election, cannabis cultivation would be illegal. The county would then have to decide how to pay for enforcement of the ban.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Board Could Decide Cannabis Fate
Author: Terry Grillo
Contact: 209-754-3861
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
