The City of Colusa’s new cannabis ordinance, which paves the way for marijuana retail establishments to operate within city limits, made it past its first major hurdle.
The Colusa Planning Commission approved the new draft regulations on Jan. 26, which will now move it to the City Council for final consideration and adoption.
The 3-0 vote, with two members absent, approved eligibility for marijuiana storefronts to operate on property zoned light industrial, particularly Colusa Industrial Properties and East Clay Street, but specifically excluded Colusa’s Riverfront District, in keeping with the general consensus of the public to keep pot shops out of Colusa’s historic downtown.
“We are excluding that downtown area, which I think our constituents and everyone wanted,” said Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Richard Sellover, who oversaw the last two meetings in the absence of Chairman Brenden Farrell.
According to the draft ordinance, Cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and delivery services will continue to be allowed – without retail sales – in all light industrial, general industrial, and limited manufacturing districts, subject to approval of all state and local regulatory agreements and permits.
The Planning Commission’s recommendation to restrict where Cannabis storefronts would be allowed, also requires signage be approved through a special use permit, when the City Council considers other factors pertaining to location, operations, odors, and security, among other requirements.
The decision to amend Colusa’s zoning and land use regulations, pertaining to the legal cannabis industry, followed a public hearing that continued over several months, in which the particulars of the ordinance were discussed, deliberated, and debated at great length.
The revision of the city’s ordinance, in large part, was to conform its language to the State of California, which moved its three regulatory programs under a single state department, officials said.
However, the original proposed ordinance, put before the Planning Commission in September, would have allowed cannabis storefronts essentially anywhere in the city, including the downtown commercial district, with the exception of residential areas or within 1,200 feet of a school.
“I prefer to have what we have, then what we had,” said Commissioner Dick Armocido, after the first two motions to approve the draft ordinance failed.
Although eventually adopted, with amendments to the original draft ordinance documented, Planning Commissioners acknowledged the provisions they approved are not binding.
“The City Council could still make changes, including allowing marijuana in the commercial districts,” Selover said.
Colusa Councilwoman Denise Conrado, who attended the public hearing, thanked the Planning Commissioners for their hard work and said she anticipated that the City Council would take their recommendations into full consideration.
“You said several times that it doesn’t matter what you do, but it does,” Conrado told the members, after the Planning Commissioners expressed concern the City Council would overrule their recommendations.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Selover advised interested members of the public to continue to be involved in the decision-making process as it moves to the final hearing or hearings before the City Council.
City officials anticipate the council to finalize the city’s revised cannabis ordinance as early as Feb. 15 or early March. ■