Council to discuss marijuana ordinance for South Lake Tahoe

With the passage of Proposition 64 in November, South Lake Tahoe and other cities around the state are taking a look at their codes and regulations to be consistent with requirements that came with the legalization of marijuana for personal use. Californians voted 57.13 percent in favor of the proposition. On a local level, the vote was very close in El Dorado County with 50.07 percent of the voters against the legalization of marijuana.

SLT City Attorney Tom Watson will present proposed changes to the City's code (6.55.700) at the South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on Tuesday, February 7.

To meet the changes in the state, Watson and staff propose local code changes to include verbiage that states no more than six marijuana plants can be grown at any single residence, and, instead of the previous medical marijuana permitted plants occupying 200 square feet in a home, those with permits have one year to comply and reduce plants to just six.

Proposed code changes also state how a dispensary is labeled, making way for future regulating or prohibiting of retail locations that sell non-medical marijuana. Plants will only be able to be used for personal use and not for commercial sale.

The amended code, if approved, would be adopted at the Council's March 7 meeting.

The Council meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. at the Council Chambers at the airport in South Lake Tahoe. Public comment can be made during the meeting or online via the ecomment section on the city's website at http://www.cityofslt.us/index.aspx?NID=84.