While the San Luis Obispo Council was debating whether it would allow adult-use cannabis businesses on Tuesday, the Grover Beach Planning Commission was mulling whether it would recommend the Grover Beach City Council do the same.
After all, why not?
Grover Beach was already the first in SLO County to approve a cannabis tax in 2016, and in the two years since has taken steps to draft a comprehensive plan allowing medical marijuana businesses in specified zones throughout the city (though that has not been without its own difficulties).
Several of those are slated to open in the coming months — and they’ll be among the first to do so in the county — so now the city is mulling its next step in recreational cannabis.
Council members have previously said they are “confident they can make the jump” to recreational cannabis.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the city change its ordinance to allow adult use; the City Council will take up the matter on Monday.
“I want to stay competitive in this market,” Councilwoman Mariam Shah said April 2. “I want people who have invested here to stay here. This seems like what the voters wanted.”
According to a staff report, the amendment would remove all references to just “medical” marijuana in the city’s cannabis ordinance, and instead clarify that both medical and recreational uses are allowed. This would also apply to delivery services.
Both types of businesses would still be required to get a state license to operate: medical businesses get a “Type-M,” while adult use, a “Type-A.”
The move won’t necessarily mean more money for the city.
Staff originally estimated that the cannabis tax would net the city between $1 million and $2 million over time as more commercial cannabis businesses are established. According to the staff report, allowing adult use would increase sales by about 25 percent, but tax revenues would remain approximately the same based on a recent council decision to reduce the tax to make it less of a strain on retailers.
The proposed amendment would also add greater restrictions on personal marijuana grows within a home or structure:
• They would be limited to a single room or a residential structure that is locked and secure.
• Lights could not exceed 3,800 watts and must be shielded from the outside.
• Cultivation wouldn’t be allowed in garages or detached accessory units, and odors can’t be detectable from adjacent properties, residences or public rights-of-way.
The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. on Monday, in City Council Chambers at 154 S. Eighth St.
