Prohibition talk
Santa Clarita officials issue public hearing notice on Proposition 64
Santa Clarita issued a notice of public hearing regarding the selling and growing of marijuana in the city.
The public hearing is scheduled for the City Council’s next regular meeting March 27. It will be the first reading of a new city ordinance that would prohibit all commercial land uses of recreational marijuana, according to Dave Peterson, associate planner of community development for the city of Santa Clarita.
If approved, the ordinance would put regulations in place for the growing of marijuana in a home. Some of the regulations include limiting the number of plants growing at one time to six, prohibiting the use of combustible gases during the growing process and standards for disposing of plants grown at home.
After the first reading, the City Council will have the chance to approve the reading. If approved, the ordinance will pass to a second reading that could happen as early as April 10. The City Council can then choose to adopt the ordinance after the second reading or send it back to city staff, according to Peterson.
Members of the public were sent notices on March 6 informing them of the public hearing, according to Peterson.
The city currently restricts the sale of recreational marijuana in city limits. This moratorium was renewed in November 2017 to give city staff time to form the proposed ordinance regarding this issue, the council said during their November meeting.
A Google search would show a number of marijuana related businesses already in Santa Clarita. There are no legal commercial related businesses of any kind in the city, according to city officials. This includes medical marijuana businesses, which have not been legal since 2008.
In 2016, California approved Proposition 64, making marijuana legal for recreational use.
This new law goes against current federal law, which prohibits the use of marijuana. Under the Controlled Substances Act, cannabis is considered a schedule 1 drug, labeling it as highly addictive and having no medical value.