LAKE COUNTY — A group of advocates submitted to the county a proposed initiative to repeal and replace the recently-passed medical marijuana cultivation ordinance on Friday, the same day courtesy notices were sent to pot dispensaries, which are now operating in violation of local law.
“We believe that our initiative proposal meets the needs of patients, caregivers and the general community,” according to a joint press release from the Lake County Citizens for Responsible Regulations and the Lake County Green Farmers Association.?
“We believe that medical marijuana cultivation can be done in such a manner that is environmentally sustainable, beneficial to the local economy and respectful of the community at large, and that our initiative provides the framework for this to occur,” the groups stated.
County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley said her office has received a proposed initiative measure for “The Lake County Medical Marijuana Cultivation Act of 2012.”
Fridley said she forwarded the potential ordinance to the County Counsel, who has 15 days to prepare an official ballot title and summary for the document.
After those items are completed, the proponents will have until Dec. 22 to circulate an initiative petition and collect 2,115 signatures from registered Lake County voters in time to qualify for the June ballot, Fridley said.
Fridley would then have to verify 2,115 valid signatures on the petition. Should that occur, she would submit a certification of her count to the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS).
The BOS would then have to decide whether to adopt the new ordinance without any changes or put the issue before the voters, Fridley said.
The initiative seeks to repeal the cultivation ordinance adopted by the BOS in October and set to take effect next week.
The proponents want to replace that law with a new, simpler ordinance with nearly a dozen fewer pages.
One main difference between the two documents concerns the number of allowable marijuana plants. The proposed ordinance would offer a wider range of options to qualified patients or caregivers depending on the size and location of their property.
Under the proposal, qualified people could grow up to 12 female plants on parcels less than one-half acre in certain residential districts or up to 24 in those same districts on land more than one-half acre.
Additionally, in certain rural and agricultural zones those people could grow up to 36 female plants on parcels less than five acres, up to 66 on parcels five to seven acres large and up to 84 plants on parcels seven acres or larger.
“We feel confident that we will obtain the signatures needed to publish our initiative on the ballot,” the groups said in their statement.
The advocates also have been collecting signatures for a referendum petition against the county”s cultivation ordinance. According to representative Don Merrill, volunteers tentatively plan to submit the referendum petition to the county Tuesday morning.
A different group of volunteers gathered enough signatures in September to force the BOS to rethink its medical marijuana dispensaries ordinance and potentially put the issue before the voters.
However, the supervisors rescinded the law last month rather than placing it on the ballot. The vote made dispensaries illegal in the county”s jurisdiction.
Peggy Dimauro, operator of the Visions of Avatar dispensary in unincorporated Lakeport, said she opposed the referendum petition because she feared the BOS would withdraw the ordinance that allowed dispensaries to operate subject to regulations.
“I was against it because of this,” she said, pointing to a courtesy notification she found posted on her shop”s door Friday morning.
The county posted notices on all 10 dispensaries and mailed the same document to the property owners on Friday, according to Community Development Director Rick Coel.
The letter informs dispensary operators that they must close up shop by Dec. 6 or county code enforcers will serve them with a notice of nuisance and order to abate, which could then lead to enforcement action and financial penalties.
“To avoid these costs and a future lien against the property, which can quickly run up into several thousand dollars, the medical marijuana dispensary must be closed within 30 days,” the notification stated.
Dimauro said she plans to keep her store open beyond the next 30 days and will research her rights to fight the ban.
“I”m not going to just lock my doors,” she said. “They”re not making it easy for me so I”m not going to make it easy for them.”
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
