Bay Area cities scramble to pass temporary controls on California recreational marijuana
SAN JOSE With polls showing state voters are likely to approve legalizing California recreational marijuana next week, cities throughout the Bay Area and California are adopting local rules that would do everything from govern indoor grows and ban outdoor cultivation to restrict sales of pot.
San Jose is the latest city considering steps that would prohibit growing, processing and selling weed for commercial purposes an effort that is designed to buy time until City Hall can decide how to regulate the new industry.
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San Jose isnt alone. Berkeley just approved its own policy banning recreational cannabis businesses until after the city crafts regulations and a licensing process. Palo Alto, Campbell, Foster City, Hayward, Davis, Martinez and other cities are also pushing for various types of local controls or temporary bans before voters decide on Nov. 8 whether to legalize recreational marijuana.
If passed by a majority of voters, Proposition 64 will allow people age 21 or older to smoke or ingest marijuana, as well as process and transport it. Individuals would be allowed to grow up to six plants indoors, but cities could ban or regulate outdoor cultivation.
San Joses City Council on Tuesday will consider adopting an urgency ordinance that would prohibit commercial use of non-medical marijuana in the city. The proposed ban would include commercial cultivating, processing, manufacturing, distributing, testing and selling of recreational weed.
City leaders say the ordinance would reiterate existing rules in an effort to stop scofflaw pot shops from opening on every street corner.
We want potential cannabis entrepreneurs to know very clearly this is not allowed in San Jose, said Michelle McGurk, an assistant to the city manager who oversees medical marijuana policy.
The other reason, McGurk says, is to allow San Jose time to decide if and how it might allow the sale of recreational cannabis. Although Prop. 64 legalizes adult use of marijuana, cities still have local control over licensing and regulations for commercial uses.
This would provide the time, if the voters pass Prop. 64, for analysis and policy discussion including environmental review, community outreach and ultimately coming back to the City Council for a decision on whether to allow and regulate commercial activity, McGurk said.
Several cities in San Diego County have taken a similar approach, temporarily banning cultivation and use of the drug recreationally. So did Santa Barbara, and Solvang, a city in Santa Barbara County, in unanimous votes last month.
Closer to home, Palo Alto last week banned outdoor cultivation. Davis is eyeing a 45-day ban on growing or using recreational weed and Martinez is considering a ban on both outdoor grows and indoor cultivation.
Hayward city leaders are exploring taxing recreational pot. And San Bruno and Foster City also have approved temporary bans on non-medical cannabis cultivation and sales.
If San Joses ordinance is adopted Tuesday, it would reiterate the citys existing ban on outdoor grows both for ...
