City Council Discussing Where Medical Marijuana Facilities Might Be Able To Operate
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13) - The discussion about where the medical marijuana industry can set up shop is underway in the city of Sacramento. But some neighbors are not happy about the idea of marijuana cultivation businesses popping up in their neighborhoods.
"I think it's a bad, bad deal for us," said Adrien Perez, who lives in Del Paso Heights. "The last thing we need is an industry that, first of all, is unproven and secondly that promotes something that we have been trying to address in this community for a long time."
The city of Sacramento would allow marijuana cultivators in zones labeled agricultural, commercial, and industrial. Most of that land is in District 6 and District 2, which is represented by Councilmember Allen Warren.
"They gotta grow it somewhere, right?" he said. "Now, this gives us another opportunity to replenish some of the revenue from the city."
But Perez is concerned that the tax revenue isn't enough of a positive to have them so close.
"If you're going to have them, it should be in the outlying areas of the city, not within the city," Perez said.
Randi Knott, the director of governmental affairs for the city of Sacramento, told CBS13 the city has created a task force committed to bringing recommendations to the city council's Law and Legislation Committee.
"We, as staff, have gotten together, looked at what other cities are doing. Oakland, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City -- they've all come before us and so we've tried to glean some best practices," said Knott.
Those practices include having strong security and effective odor control at the future facilities.
"Your land may be suitable, but if you're going to come in and ask the city for an operating permit to run a cannabis cultivation business, there's going to be a number of things we're going to ask you for," said Knott.
Still, Perez isn't sold on the idea and said he's not sure the right people are involved in the discussion.
"We don't have a neutral party involved," he said. "We need a neutral party."
On August 9, the committee will discuss the issue. If approved, the marijuana-grow measure then gets presented to the full council. The rules the city puts in place could set the precedent for recreational marijuana cultivation if it passes this November.