Richmond lifts ban on pot cultivation

No cap on permits; policy among most liberal in area

RICHMOND — This city could soon become a major hub for marijuana cultivation and manufacturing after the passage of one of the most liberal policies in the Bay Area.

Starting Friday, Richmond will allow an unlimited number of permits for commercial cannabis grows as well as businesses that produce edibles like cookies, brownies and tinctures. The goal of the new law is to bring a sometimes shady industry into the light and generate money for a city that is perpetually strapped for cash.

“We’re going to be in full tax-collection mode,” said Mayor Tom Butt, who estimates that it could bring in $1 million each year. “We want the money.”

The move is similar to changes in Oakland, which in May expanded the number of medical marijuana dispensaries and related businesses operating in the city. That city’s policy is expected to bring in an estimated 30 cultivators and 28 manufacturing businesses.

In contrast, all other cities in Contra Costa and Alameda counties ban marijuana cultivation, with the exception of Martinez, which allows it at approved dispensaries.

“Richmond is out ahead of the curve on this and one of the jurisdictions leading in this movement to regulate this activity,” said Alex Zavell, a senior regulatory analyst at the Robert Raich law firm in Oakland, which focuses on medical cannabis cases. “It’s an approach that uses zoning tools to equate cannabis activity to other industrial and commercial uses instead of putting some sort of cap on activities.”

Under the new law, businesses will be required to locate in neighborhoods zoned light industrial and submit detailed security and safety plans that will be reviewed by both the Police and Fire departments. Applicants will also have to show that their facility will derive 100 percent of its energy from renewable materials before the application is even considered by the City Council. Once up and running, the businesses will be taxed 5 percent of all sales.

Temple Extracts, a cannabis oil and extract manufacturing company now based in Berkeley, is one of a handful of applicants lining up for a permit.

The changes come after the passage of the state Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, an attempt to create guidelines for the industry nearly two decades after California voters legalized medical marijuana. The new legislation, which sets up a formal state licensing process scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2018, has prompted a scramble by cities to establish clearer guidelines for medical cannabis operations.