County supervisors approved a motion during this week’s meeting to bring two marijuana ordinances before the board at the Sept. 27 meeting, one of which is a moratorium that would halt cultivation in the county.
The board will examine an older marijuana ordinance drafted in 2015, as well as the moratorium ordinance. The moratorium would act as an interim measure while a commercial cultivation ordinance is developed.
As for the older ordinance, the board will consider an updated version alongside the moratorium option. The updated version will address changes concerning number of plants allowed for personal cultivation, as well as odor mitigation.
The idea to bring back the older marijuana ordinance turned into a debate over whether it should allow six plants or 12 plants for personal cultivation. Ultimately, the majority of the board favored six plants.
Supervisors Anthony Botelho and Jaime De La Cruz, who comprise the Ad Hoc Committee tasked with creating a county marijuana cultivation ordinance, reported on the committee’s activities.
“The committee has been trying to formulate conditions to allow some sort of permitted use, but it’s next to impossible without knowing what the state is doing,” Botelho said. “The committee feels at this point in time, in order to bring some order in San Benito County in regards to this issue, is to put a moratorium on commercial cultivation of marijuana.”
Chairman Robert Rivas talked about the complicated nature of creating a county marijuana ordinance. He brought up the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which is comprised of three separate bills (AB 243, AB 266, and SB 643) that were enacted in the California legislature on Sept. 11, 2015. Although MMRSA establishes licensing and regulatory framework concerning medical marijuana, the state doesn’t anticipate that framework being ready until Jan. 1, 2018. This puts the responsibility for regulation on local governments until then.
Another complication with this issue is Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational marijuana for adult consumption in California.
Rivas said he wants to wait for an ordinance until after the November election.
“If Prop 64 passes it’s a whole different game, as far as medicinal and recreational use,” he said. “That way once we have all the cards before us we can determine our own future.”
County Counsel Matthew Granger informed supervisors that the moratorium will be effective for 45 days, should they decide to vote in favor of it at the Sept. 27 meeting. From there, the board will need to determine whether or not to extend the moratorium beyond those first 45 days. The longest it can be extended is two years.
