Colusa’s cannabis workshop on Feb. 22 had just three members of the Planning Commission, administrative staff, and a couple of members from the public, but managed – in just over two hours – to whip out a potential ordinance that could regulate the cultivation of marijuana for personal use within city limits.
The new ordinance will be the first of its kind in Colusa since voters legalized recreational use and personal use of cannabis in 2016.
“We do not have a personal grow ordinance or a set of regulations,” said City Manager Jesse Cain. “This is an attempt to create one that we can recommend to council to adopt.”
California allows individuals 21 or over to grow up to six cannabis plants for personal use per parcel.
“A lot of people think it is six plants per person,” Cain said. “It’s not. It’s per parcel.”
Planning officials said California statute allowing for personal cultivation of marijuana cannot be usurped, but cities and counties can have stricter laws about cannabis than the state, such as site and permit requirements.
“At first I was against permitting, but that is what everybody is doing,” said Commissioner Vicki Willoh. “I don’t think I have seen one city that was not requiring a permit, and I’ve looked at quite a few.”
Cain and Senior Planner Matt Fontes will present a preliminary draft of the personal cultivation ordinance to the Planning Commission, taking the recommendations that came from the workshop.
The City Council has requested the Planning Commission overhaul the entire city codes related to marijuana, including placing limits on commercial operations and storefronts.
For personal use, the Planning Commission is considering allowing some outdoor (backyard) cultivation as long as the plants are below a fence line, properly secured so children cannot access it, and that no marijuana is visible to the public at street level or from school property.
The use of volatile solvents (butane, propane, Co2, ethanol) to manufacture cannabis projects for personal consumption will be prohibited, as it is prohibited also by state law, officials said.
State law also prohibits selling, trading, or bartering any marijuana.
While the city will allow cannabis cultivation of six plants, property owners will still be able to ban the use of cannabis on privately-owned property.
Written permission from a landlord will be needed for tenants to take out a local permit, which city officials have recommended to be $100 to cover the cost of the administrative process.
Personal indoor and outdoor cultivation will have to comply with the city’s noise and nuisance ordinances.
The Planning Commission also recommended a tiered approach to establishing fines for violations, officials said.
The workshop format has been useful for discussing ideas openly, said Chairman John Martin.
After the Planning Commission formally adopts the draft ordinance, it will be forwarded to the City Council for final discussion and adoption, he said. ■