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Kern County To Ban MJ Cultivation/Production/Dispensing??

It appears that Kern County has 2-3 weeks to decide if they want to ban or comply w/ Proposition 64. Kern County majority voted no for Prop 64 back in November 2016.

Bakersfield City, Kern County banned MJ cultivation on 10/4/17.

I get the sense that they might very well ban for near term (starting January 1, 2018) until they see how other counties/cities handle the whole tracking/control process. If banned, who knows how long until they reverse ban.

Kern County Majority Voted No to Prop 64 November 2016


https://www.kerncounty.com/planning/pdfs/notices/marijuana_ord2017_nop.pdf

Even through marijuana is “decriminalized” under California state law, and even with the guidance issued through memoranda by the USDOJ, marijuana activities continue to be illegal and subject to the prosecutorial discretion of the federal government.

On March 31, 2009, the Board passed Ordinance No. G-7849 (the 2009 Ordinance). The 2009 Ordinance repealed the licensing scheme set forth in the 2006 Ordinance, and removed the majority of the prior
restrictions imposed on dispensaries. As with the 2006 Ordinance, the 2009 Ordinance was codified under Chapter 5.84 of the KCOC. The only restrictions expressly placed on dispensaries under the 2009 Ordinance were:
(1) Dispensaries were only permitted in zoning districts that permitted “pharmacies” under the Zoning Ordinance; and,
(2) Dispensaries had to be further than 1000 feet from schools. The 2009 Ordinance applied only to “Medical Marijuana Cooperatives or Collectives,” as that term is defined under an Attorney
General’s Guideline related to Dispensaries

On April 5, 2016, the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled in the matter of County of Kern et. al. v. T.C.E.F. et. al., that the County’s Repeal Ordinance violated Government Code Section 9145 because, in response to the referendum, the County repealed the 2009 Ordinance and the Dispensary Ban, rather than just the Dispensary Ban. As a result of that ruling, the Court of Appeals held that the 2009 Ordinance was in full force and effect.

On May 10, 2016, the Board passed Ordinance No. G-8630, which added Chapter 5.86 to the KCOC and imposed a moratorium on the establishment of new Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the County (the “2016 Moratorium”). Pursuant to the Moratorium, “no Medical Marijuana Dispensary(ies) other than those in existence and operating on the effective date of this ordinance, is permitted within the unincorporated areas of Kern County during the period of time this ordinance is in effect.” The Moratorium was extended
on June 21, 2016 for ten months and 15 days, pursuant to Government Code section 65858(a).

As of November 18, 2016, the 2016 Moratorium remains in effect and no new dispensaries are permitted within the unincorporated areas of the County. Those dispensaries that were in operation prior to the 2016 Moratorium must comply with the provisions of the 2009 Ordinance.

A total of 29 medical marijuana dispensaries were in operation within the County as of November 18, 2016. Of these 29 dispensaries, 7 are in violation of the moratorium or Kern County Zoning Ordinance Chapter 19.120 and the remaining 22 opened before the moratorium and are being reviewed for compliance (refer
to Figure 3, Existing Dispensary Locations).

On May 10, 2016, the Board passed Ordinance No. G-8630, which added Chapter 5.86 to the KCOC and imposed a moratorium on the establishment of new medical marijuana dispensaries in the County (2016 Moratorium). Pursuant to the 2016 Moratorium, “no Medical Marijuana Dispensaries other than those in existence and operating on the effective date of this ordinance, is permitted within the unincorporated areas of Kern County during the period of time this ordinance is in effect.” As of November 18, 2016, the 2016
Moratorium remains in effect and no new dispensaries are permitted within the unincorporated areas of the County. Those dispensaries that were in operation prior to the 2016 Moratorium must comply with the provisions of the 2009 Ordinance.

Indoor Cultivation (State License Type 1A,1B, 2A)
A total of 35 State licenses (permits) would be allowed countywide for cultivation.

A countywide maximum of 650,000 ft2 of indoor cultivation would be allowed in unincorporated portions of the County with the required State permits, appropriate licenses and, if applicable, conditional use permits.


A countywide maximum of 150 acres of outdoor cultivation would be allowed in unincorporated portions of the County with the required State permits, appropriate licenses and, if applicable, conditional use permits.

Each individual outdoor cultivation operation would be a maximum of one (1) acre in size.

Processing and packaging facilities would be required to obtain the appropriate State license from the Department of Public Health (manufacturing licenses) and the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation within the Department of Consumer Affairs (distribution, transportation, laboratory testing).

A countywide maximum of 300,000 ft2 of extraction/production for active ingredient, production of edibles, infused drinks and solid application would be allowed in unincorporated areas of the County with the required State permits, appropriated licenses and, if applicable, conditional use permits.

Dispensaries would be required to obtain the appropriate State license from the Department of Medical Cannabis Regulation within the Department of Consumer Affairs (distribution, transportation, dispensary [sale]).

A countywide maximum of 20 dispensaries would be allowed within unincorporated portions of Kern County with the required State permits, appropriate licenses, and conditional use permits.

July 7, 2017
http://www.turnto23.com/longform/california-city-cultivation-the-future-of-medical-marijuana-growth-in-kern-county

The city has already awarded 30 licenses to cultivators and manufacturers and is going through the interview process with nearly 100 more.

However Weil said the town will only have one dispensary, as laws only allow for one per every 13,000 in the population.

August 4, 2017
http://www.turnto23.com/longform/new-proposed-project-would-regulate-marijuana-cultivation-distribution-in-kern-county

The Kern County Planning Department has proposed a project that would allow over 200 acres of unincorporated land in the county to be set aside for the marijuana industry.

“Either ban everything or regulate everything," Kern County Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt said. However, if the Board of Supervisors decides to ban marijuana cultivation in October, the county would initiate a task force to reduce crime and make sure no one breaks any rules.

There would also be a countywide maximum of three processing and distribution facilities in unincorporated areas of the county with the required state licenses.

A countywide maximum of 40 retail cannabis stores with or without mobile delivery would be allowed within unincorporated portions of Kern County with the required state licenses.

They would have to be half a mile or more from a school, day care center, or youth center while children are present. This includes county islands within the City of Bakersfield. Only 1,000 feet is specified in Proposition 64, the Marijuana Legalization Act.

She also warned that any illegal cannabis operations should stop doing business and apply through the process correctly. 

There are no legal dispensaries in the city of Bakersfield," she said. “They cannot continue to operate illegally and go through a legal process."

September 19, 2017
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/kern-county-planning-commission-could-face-cannabis-debate-thursday/article_2f3da7d8-9ff3-11e7-878f-9f5a126c594f.html

On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors will hear a code enforcement case against a group of people who converted a couple of retail sections of a Mojave shopping mall into a massive indoor marijuana field. When they were cited by county code enforcement officers, they had more than 1,100 plants growing. The county only allows 12 on a parcel of land. Right now the county has trouble getting rid of those growers or the host of medical marijuana dispensaries that pop up, sell their product until they’re busted and then move into another space down the road to sell again.

A ban would make both adult-use and medical marijuana businesses illegal under county zoning laws.

Existing cannabis shops would have to close – though they’d be given time to phase out their operations.
Once the full ban would go live, the owners of cannabis businesses that flout the law – both new and old - would be subject to misdemeanor criminal charges, administrative fines and penalties.

September 25, 2017
http://ktla.com/2017/09/25/22-year-old-man-faces-up-to-40-years-in-prison-5-million-fine-for-helping-operate-kern-county-marijuana-groves-with-over-10000-plants/

A 22-year-old man from Perris could receive a 40-year prison sentence and have to pay a fine of up to $5 million in connection with operating two large-scale marijuana farms in the Sequoia National Forest, the United States District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Authorities linked Maldonado and 21-year-old co-defendant Coral Herrera to the grow sites after a four-month investigation, which exposed their involvement in the supplying of materials, equipment and staff to the growing of 10,396 marijuana plants in the Lucas Creek drainage of Kern County, federal prosecutors said.

September 28,2017
www.bakersfield.com/news/pot-meeting-a-bust/article_59501bf6-a4cf-11e7-95fa-cb19e85eb147.html

Thursday’s marijuana meeting — a forum for one of the biggest decisions on the Kern County Planning Commission’s docket this year — was canceled just minutes after it began.
That delays a vote by Kern County Supervisors and pushes the county closer to missing a critical state cannabis deadline on Jan. 1.

Prop. 64 passed in 2016 and legalized the adult-use of marijuana.
Under that law the state will begin issuing licenses to businesses that want to grow, process and sell pot on Jan. 1.

Cities and county’s can choose to ban pot, if they wish, and the state is required to respect that decision under Prop. 64.
But Kern County hasn’t made that decision yet.
Oviatt will recommend that commissioners chose to regulate commercial cannabis rather than ban it in the unincorporated areas of Kern County.

The city of Bakersfield, the report notes, recently banned commercial cannabis under Prop. 64.

But Kern County voters rejected Prop. 64 and have struggled with the legalization of cannabis for a decade.

10/4/17
http://www.kernradio.com/2017/10/04/is-bakersfield-ready-to-regulate-legal-marijuana-ward-2-councilman-andrae-gonzales-says-no/

The city of Bakersfield is moving forward with its decision not to allow the legal sale of marijuana effective Jan. 2, 2018. Ward 2 City Councilman Andrae Gonzales explains why he voted for the ban, taking a wait and see attitude to determine how other communities deal with legal sales.