Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Calaveras County Elections officials this week began an initial count of signatures submitted in support of a ballot measure that seeks to ban commercial cannabis cultivation.
Elections Coordinator Robin Glanville said that next week, staff members will begin verifying a sample of 500 signatures to determine if a high enough proportion are valid to qualify the measure on a ballot, possibly as soon as May.
Bill McManus of the Committee to Ban Commercial Cultivation said his organization turned in 5,220 signatures, far more than the 3,143 needed to put the measure before voters during a special election. Only 1,572 valid signatures would be needed to qualify the measure to be on the ballot for a general election.
Calaveras County has had cannabis growers for decades. But it was only on May 10 that the Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance to regulate medical cannabis growers, charge them fees and send code inspectors to make sure the operations are in order. The urgency ordinance also froze the number of farms and was an attempt to stop a marijuana land rush.
Some, however, criticized the urgency ordinance for legalizing and encouraging an industry that they would prefer to ban. An initial petition drive for a measure to ban commercial cannabis cultivation failed even though proponents said they turned in more than enough signatures. Calaveras County elections officials ruled that the submitted signature pages failed to include the full language of the proposed measure as required by the state elections code.
This time, ban proponents got it right, Glanville said.
"The petition was reviewed. It is in the proper order that it is supposed to be in. So all that is left is to verify the signatures," she said.
If and when elections staff determine there are enough valid signatures to place the ban measure on the ballot, they will send it to the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors, in turn, can place it on the ballot or, if they wish, simply enact the ban into county code. A ban would put a halt to the registration and inspection of cannabis farms and eliminate a potential source of tax revenue under Measure C, a cannabis industry tax Calaveras County voters approved in November.
By May, when the initiative would go to a vote, it is likely that many growers would have already planted a new crop.
The ban initiative does grant what it calls an "exemption" for "personal growers" who are either growing the plant for their own medical use or as caregivers of medical cannabis patients. Personal growers could cultivate up to three plants (or six in the case of couples who both have medical marijuana recommendations).
The measure would require that personal grows be conducted only on parcels with dwellings but that the cannabis would have to be grown in an enclosed structure separate from the dwelling. Personal growers would be required to obtain permits from the Planning Department.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Calaveras Elections Office Starts Counting Signatures For Commercial Cannabis Ban Measure
Author: Dana Nichols
Contact: 209.754.3861
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
Elections Coordinator Robin Glanville said that next week, staff members will begin verifying a sample of 500 signatures to determine if a high enough proportion are valid to qualify the measure on a ballot, possibly as soon as May.
Bill McManus of the Committee to Ban Commercial Cultivation said his organization turned in 5,220 signatures, far more than the 3,143 needed to put the measure before voters during a special election. Only 1,572 valid signatures would be needed to qualify the measure to be on the ballot for a general election.
Calaveras County has had cannabis growers for decades. But it was only on May 10 that the Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance to regulate medical cannabis growers, charge them fees and send code inspectors to make sure the operations are in order. The urgency ordinance also froze the number of farms and was an attempt to stop a marijuana land rush.
Some, however, criticized the urgency ordinance for legalizing and encouraging an industry that they would prefer to ban. An initial petition drive for a measure to ban commercial cannabis cultivation failed even though proponents said they turned in more than enough signatures. Calaveras County elections officials ruled that the submitted signature pages failed to include the full language of the proposed measure as required by the state elections code.
This time, ban proponents got it right, Glanville said.
"The petition was reviewed. It is in the proper order that it is supposed to be in. So all that is left is to verify the signatures," she said.
If and when elections staff determine there are enough valid signatures to place the ban measure on the ballot, they will send it to the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors, in turn, can place it on the ballot or, if they wish, simply enact the ban into county code. A ban would put a halt to the registration and inspection of cannabis farms and eliminate a potential source of tax revenue under Measure C, a cannabis industry tax Calaveras County voters approved in November.
By May, when the initiative would go to a vote, it is likely that many growers would have already planted a new crop.
The ban initiative does grant what it calls an "exemption" for "personal growers" who are either growing the plant for their own medical use or as caregivers of medical cannabis patients. Personal growers could cultivate up to three plants (or six in the case of couples who both have medical marijuana recommendations).
The measure would require that personal grows be conducted only on parcels with dwellings but that the cannabis would have to be grown in an enclosed structure separate from the dwelling. Personal growers would be required to obtain permits from the Planning Department.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Calaveras Elections Office Starts Counting Signatures For Commercial Cannabis Ban Measure
Author: Dana Nichols
Contact: 209.754.3861
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
