WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission on Tuesday will make recommendations for possible changes to the city’s cannabis ordinance.
The Planning Commission’s agenda was not made available before press time, but a public hearing notice published in this newspaper stated the body would be making recommendations on amendments to chapters 14-16 (district regulations) and 14-53 (cannabis facilities) of the Watsonville Municipal Code.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Civic Plaza’s Council Chambers.
The City Council in November 2019 made recommendations on several changes to the current ordinance, including increases to the number of cannabis business licenses, the allowable square footage for cultivation, employee background checks, delivery regulations and distance requirements.
Council members, however, did not make a recommendation for the tax structure on cannabis businesses. Instead, they asked staff to do more research on possible changes to taxation before it prepares a final ordinance that will be presented to the Planning Commission on Tuesday.
The council in that meeting last year recommended the addition of six manufacturing licenses, two “stand alone” distribution licenses, two retail licenses and an unlimited number of testing licenses.
Currently, the city allows only six cultivation and nine manufacturing licenses.
The council also recommended manufacturers and cultivators have the ability to sell their products through delivery.
Mayor Rebecca Garcia voted against every proposed expansion, citing the lack of presentable safety figures (number of cannabis-related arrests and DUIs since its legalization) during the November presentation.
Other recommendations from that presentation include:
• Raising the maximum square footage of cultivation from 5,000 square feet to 22,000 with no limits on the grow area’s footprint.
• Allowing one cultivation license to be used on more than one parcel to reach the maximum square footage.
• Continue to recognize licenses for processing and nurseries as cultivation licenses.
• Allow delivery for cannabis services that operate in city limits.
• Enforce separation requirements for all uses, except for cultivation by path of travel from the property line of sensitive use areas (churches, schools, parks) to the main door of the cannabis business.
• Allow retail in zones designated Thoroughfare Commercial, Neighborhood Shopping Center and Visitor Commercial, as well as Light Industrial and Industrial.
• Requiring employee background checks for only owners and managers of cannabis businesses.
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The Planning Commission will also review two special use permit applications to allow the off-sale of beer and wine at a pair of convenience stores run by Rahil Hussain.
Hussain’s properties are at 1597 Freedom Blvd.—across the street from McDonald’s—and 1180 Main St.—next to La Princesa Market.
