Following a lengthy discussion at the end of Tuesdays regular meeting, the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors voted to appoint District 4 Supervisor Dennis Mills and District 2 Supervisor Jack Garamendi to an ad hoc committee that will advise the board on a pending and possible cannabis ordinance.
The move to create the committee was listed in the boards consent agenda, where several items are typically automatically approved by one vote of the panel. The committee item was pulled from the consent section and moved to the action agenda for further discussion.
A motion to form the committee came finally from District 1 Supervisor Gary Tofanelli; his motion listed the scope of the work as fact-finding for future regulation.
The committee was directed to report to the board on a monthly basis or as needed. The committee was formed with an ending date of June, when a board-directed ban ordinance is expected for review.
The ad hoc committee will need to prepare factual information for the board while a series of measures and lawsuits swirl around the question of regulating commercial cannabis or banning it.
The county currently regulates medical cannabis under an urgency ordinance passed by the board on May 10. More than 700 personal and commercial growers have applied to be part of the county program.
State Proposition 64 made recreational use of cannabis legal in California after a successful vote in November. Regulation of recreational cannabis production can be controlled by local jurisdictions. In Calaveras County, that would fall to the Board of Supervisors, should it choose to exercise the authority.
A citizens initiative moves toward a possible mail-in election on May 2. The initiative, Measure B, would ban commercial cannabis cultivation in Calaveras County, including processing, delivery, transportation and dispensaries.
The authors of Measure B were successfully sued on March 6 by pro-cannabis advocate Bob Bowerman to have their language in the argument and rebuttal section of the ballot changed. Bowerman challenged eight points in statements made by Measure B authors David Tunno and Bill McManus. The court required changes in seven of the statements and threw out the eighth.
Then, on March 9, Measure B authors were sued again, this time by Calaveras Naturals Inc., headed by Jeremy Carlson of Little Trees Dispensary in Arnold. Citing state law, the suit questions language in the body of the measure and asks that it be removed from the ballot.
A hearing to determine the fate of Measure B is tentatively scheduled for March 20, several days after the print deadline for the ballots, according to Robin Glanville, county Elections Coordinator.
If the suit is successful, ballots could go out with Measure B listed for a vote, when it was ordered removed by the court. If Measure B survives the current court challenge, it will go to registered voters beginning on April 3 with a mail-in due date of May 3.
If it passes, the question of whether the commercial cannabis industry in Calaveras County will continue will be answered. If it fails at the ballot, the Board of Supervisors can take control of how or whether the industry should be regulated or banned.
Into this mix, the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 31 directed staff to prepare a county ordinance that would ban commercial cultivation. County Counsel Megan Stedfeldt told the board on Tuesday that its ordered legislation is currently being drafted. It must be reviewed and approved first the Planning Commission before it can move to the board for a vote.
On March 10, Planning Director Peter Maurer said he expects the ordinance to be complete in June or July.
I am assuming that should the ban fail, the board would move ahead with regulation, said Garamendi.
We need to stop thinking about Measure B and concentrate on our ordinance, said Mills. We can clean it up and make it more functional.
Before the board discussion, public speakers on both the ban and regulation sides of the cannabis question asked that the committee include outside members, but board chairman and District 3 Supervisor Michael Oliveira insisted that the committee be limited to the two supervisors. He said they could seek information from spokespersons on the ban-or-regulate sides of the question, but they alone are to report to the board.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Committee To Study Cannabis Ordinance Born
Author: Terry Grillo
Contact: 209-754-3861
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
