CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council moved forward Thursday with an ordinance concerning medical marijuana cultivation that included changes previously directed by the council.
Additional verbiage changes and corrections were made prior to the first reading of the ordinance, which was adopted on a 4-1 vote with Councilmember Jeri Spittler voting in dissent.
The ordinance is due to return to the council for a final reading and adoption on Sept. 26.
Spittler said she was not as concerned with marijuana as she is with the chemicals being used on vineyards. "If you want to talk about air quality, let's talk about poison, not pollen," she said.
The ordinance, which is modeled on the cultivation ordinance adopted by the Lake County Board of Supervisors last year, prohibits commercial grows and grows on vacant lots, and puts limitations on the number of plants allowed.
The ordinance prohibits cultivation within 600 feet of public or private schools, and child care centers. In the case of the latter, staff was directed in August to include and define child care centers in the document. Staff also was directed to add a "grandfather" clause to allow existing grows, within 600 feet of a child care center, to continue.
As presented by staff, the language of the additional section on child care centers was the height of the discussion. The section imposed the prohibition on cultivation within 600 feet of a child care center and continued, "except for those child care centers that are appropriately licensed and in existence at the time of the effective date of this ordinance."
Lower Lake attorney Ron Green said the section was faulty and he did not believe the language accomplished what the council had intended.
He suggested the council eliminate the section, and revisit it later, in order to move on and pass the document on Thursday.
"With the exception of the child care provisions, the ordinance essentially conforms to the county's ordinance, which was the original intent of the council. The county's ordinance has been tested in the courts, which was part of the reason for copying it," he said. "It makes no sense to add a provision that is poorly written and fatally flawed from a legal perspective; one that is basically incomprehensible, unfair and certain to lead to litigation."
Spittler also suggested eliminating the section and moving forward. She asked if the section would affect only new child care centers, and questioned how a person cultivating would know if a new child care center opened within 600 feet of his or her grow location.
City Manager Joan Phillipe said the issue would be addressed in the child care center's permitting process.
Spittler said that new child care centers should be required to give notice and public hearings should be held in order for affected residents to provide input on the permit request.
Ultimately, Councilmember Gina Fortino-Dickson recommended the second portion of the section to read as, "Cultivation in existence at the time of adoption within 600 feet will be grandfathered in," and the ordinance moved forward.
The ordinance also connects the number of plants allowed to parcel size, allowing no more than six plants on parcels smaller than a half-acre and as many as 48 plants on properties 40 acres or larger.
Processing of marijuana is to be limited to the amount of plants that can be grown on a given parcel.
Grows on vacant lots are prohibited as is cultivation in mobile home parks - unless management has designated a specific garden area. Cultivation on multifamily and apartment properties also is prohibited.
In addition, the ordinance establishes setback and screening requirements.
Phillipe had stated in her written report to the council that it is the city's intent to enforce the ordinance based on legitimate and verified complaints.
In other council actions, Spittler was authorized to vote on the city's behalf at next week's League of California Cities' annual conference in Sacramento. The city will vote in support of the league’s proposed policy resolutions.
One resolution calls upon the governor and the Legislature to work with the league in providing adequate funding and to provide water bonds to assist local governments in water conservation, groundwater recharge and reuse of stormwater and urban run-off programs.
The second resolution calls for the governor and Legislature to enter into discussions with the league and California Police Chiefs Association representatives to identify and enact strategies that will ensure the success of public safety realignment from a local law enforcement perspective.
Phillipe said the second resolution seeks to outline the deficiencies in the state's current public safety realignment policy implemented in 2011 and to identify changes to assist in addressing the increase of offenders now being directed to county facilities. She said Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen reviewed the resolution and recommended support.
The council also held a first reading of an ordinance related to state video franchises. The ordinance authorizes the city to fully exercise the regulatory authority it retains under the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006, including the collection of franchise fees and public, education and government (PEG) fees and obtaining the capacity for up to three PEG channels.
The ordinance’s first reading was approved and, like the cultivation ordinance, it will return for a second reading on Sept. 26.
Opening its meeting on Thursday, the council presented a proclamation designating September as "Suicide Awareness Month."
Contact Denise Rockenstein at
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