The San Juan Bautista City Council held a first reading of a planned temporary cannabis ban last Tuesday.
“This is a stop gap measure,” said Jim West, the city’s vice mayor at the September 19 meeting. “We’re working on a comprehensive ordinance that could come out soon.”
City officials hope to get ahead of the state when they start issuing recreational cannabis business permits next year. Local officials fear losing local control if they don’t have a law on the books.
While the city established a medical cannabis dispensary ban in 2011, nothing has been established for recreational.
City officials are currently drafting a cannabis ordinance with Pinnacle Strategy President Victor Gomez, who signed a $9,000, nine-month contract to consult on cannabis policy in August.
The upcoming ordinance, expected to be adopted at the council’s next regular meeting in October, will temporarily ban cannabis sales, cultivation and delivery while council members work to establish a permanent ordinance.
