With legalization looming statewide and some residents complaining of marijuana odors, the Carpinteria City Council approved an ordinance Monday that places a number of restrictions on where recreational marijuana may be cultivated within the city.
According to City Manager Dave Durflinger, the ordinance fills in gaps the city sees in Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, the statewide ballot initiative that, if passed, would legalize recreational marijuana starting Nov. 9.
Most polls show a sizable lead for Prop 64’s supporters, who have raised significantly more cash than the opposition.
If approved, the initiative would legalize marijuana and hemp, establish state agencies to oversee the substance, and impose cultivation taxes and a 15-percent excise tax on it.
Californians 21 and older would then be permitted to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes, though smoking it would be prohibited within 1,000 feet of schools and youth centers.
Local government would have the ability to ban outdoor cultivation and impose reasonable restrictions on indoor cultivation, which can’t surpass six plants at a single residence at one time.
Under Carpinteria’s new ordinance, outdoor cultivation can only occur in backyards and without any exterior visual evidence.
Outdoor cultivation will be banned entirely at apartment buildings and condominiums, where the city says outdoor spaces are typically too visible to others to grow plants out of sight.
Cultivation will also be banned in the indoor common areas of those types of communal buildings, as well as within 600 feet of schools, day care centers and youth centers.
Any building that does house cultivation must be up to the relevant building standards, said Dylan Johnson, a city attorney.
“The application of these local regulations, in terms of outdoor cultivation, would significantly limit the number of properties where outdoor cultivation would be allowed,” Durflinger said.
Before the school- and youth-zone buffer, he added, about 60 percent of residential units will be precluded from outdoor cultivation.
According to Durflinger, enforcement of the ordinance will likely occur in response to complaints.
Fines, according to city staff, will be a minimum of $100 for the first violation, and up to $500 for each subsequent violation.
“I see these proposed regulations as pretty light,” Mayor Gregg Carty said. “And I see them not only protecting the non-growers and the non-users of marijuana, I also see them protecting the cultivators and users. More importantly, I see them helping protect our youth.”
Last month, the city received complaints from residents about safety and health concerns posed by cultivation near the city.
Residents and Carpinteria High School staff also lodged complaints about marijuana odors.
The ordinance passed 4-1, with Councilman Al Clark dissenting.
Clark argued that the ordinance should offer a more objective approach to enforcement and dealing with complaints.
He and Councilman J. Bradley Stein expressed concern over residents reporting each other just because they don’t like them having marijuana nearby.
In Denver, Colo., Clark said, the air can be tested to determine the presence of marijuana, and a certain number of complaints must be registered for a property before enforcement action is taken.
Clark said he’d likely vote for the ordinance at second reading, however, if presented with the facts behind the city’s complaints.
In order to expedite the enactment process, the council adopted the ordinance through “urgency procedures,” which require a four-fifths vote.
The ordinance will go into effect Nov. 9.
Should Prop 64 fail, however, the ordinance would not go into effect at all, Durflinger said.
Carpinteria isn’t the only city grappling with the prospect of legalized pot.
Santa Barbara recently extended its ban on recreational marijuana businesses, and on Nov. 8, residents of that city will decide whether to enact a 20-percent tax on the gross receipts of all medical and non-medical marijuana businesses.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.