County and City vote to extend temporary bans on sales of cannabis

On Tuesday both the South Lake Tahoe City Council and the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to extend their ban on commercial sales of cannabis as they work out the rules and regulations for their jurisdictions.

The ban on sales in South Lake Tahoe was set to expire on January 25, 2018, and without an extension or ordinance in place, anyone could have applied for a license to sell with the State of California.

With an extension, the 15-member community committee can finish their recommendations and send to the City Attorney, and then to the Planning Commission and City Council to vote on. While the moratorium could last an additional 10 months and 15 days, the Council expects to have an approved ordinance by mid-May, 2018. Per Government Code the Council could not extend the moratorium for any lesser amount, but with a four-fifths vote they can rescind the moratorium when their ordinance is ready.

"I wish we didn’t have to deal with a ten-plus month moratorium," said City Councilmember Austin Sass. "Council wants to get this done ASAP."

"We want it done right, but sooner rather than later," added Councilmember Brooke Laine.

Laine and Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis have been active participants as the City's representatives on the cannabis committee meetings. The 15 committee members have spent over 21 hours in meetings and research time in their preparation of a plethora of topics that will be contained in the ordinance. Employer training, signage, buffers, revenue, licensing types (delivery, manufacturing, distribution, cultivation, micro-business and testing), security, advertising, enforcement, public education, locations and number of dispensaries. They felt the State's regulations on packaging, dosage, testing and hours of operation will work for South Lake Tahoe and the City won't need any additional controls in those areas.

Possible timeline:

January 31 - Recommendations from the working group will be sent to the City Attorney for draft ordinance preparation (To community, planning commission and City Council presentations).

February 20 - Public workshop on recommendations from the working group during City Council meeting .

March 8 - Presentation to Planning Commission

March 20 - City Council agenda will contain Planning Commission recommendations and possible 1st reading or additional discussion.

April 3 - Possible 2nd reading ( or 1st reading if changes were made at prior meeting).

April 17 - Possible 2nd reading (if 1st reading approved on April 3)

May 3 - City Council approved ordinance become the law if approved on April 3.

May 17 - City Council approved ordinance becomes the law if approved on April 17.

After some input from those at Tuesday's meeting, City Council may vote at their February meeting to start the process of development agreements for potential cannabis retail outlets, so when an ordinance is approved they could be ready to go.

Over on the County side, the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend up to two years the 45-day temporary ban on commercial licenses for both medical and recreational (adult) cannabis.

There will be an ad hoc Cannabis Committee on Wednesday, January 31st from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the County Planning Commission conference room located at 2850 Fairlane Ct. Building C, Placerville.

“The combination of Prop 64 taking statewide effect January 1st, the nearly five-year County history of developing ordinances, creating ad hoc committees to address the issue of both medical and commercial cannabis, and the level of public interest in this issue makes today the right time to launch a site that addresses
the myriad issues related to cannabis in El Dorado County,” said Board of Supervisor chair and member of the ad hoc Cannabis Committee, Michael Ranalli.

“We included as much pertinent information as possible on this site,” said Supervisor Sue Novasel, who also serves on the ad hoc Cannabis Committee. “Recognizing that there may be some level of confusion around what people can and cannot do in El Dorado County and that there likely will be continual updates as the regulation and enforcement of commercial and personal cannabis evolve, we urge residents to check this site frequently so they can be maximally informed.”

The County launched a new website that is focused on the County’s cannabis issues. It includes information about personal and commercial guidelines, the County’s
regulatory history of cannabis, State and County policies about cannabis, the code enforcement process, frequently asked questions and answers, and more.

It can be found here: https://www.edcgov.us/Government/CAO/Cannabis/.