This is the second article in a four-part series on local measures on the November ballot. For the first article on Measure A, the Lucerne Elementary School District bond, and Measure B, which would raise South Lake County Fire Protection District's appropriations limit, see www.bit.ly/2dL1ycX .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Among the local measures on a crowded November ballot are a tax on cannabis growing and a local community college district's bond reauthorization.

The Board of Supervisors voted in August to put a cannabis tax measure – now known as Measure C – before voters in November, while the Yuba and Woodland Community Colleges – which serve a portion of Lake County – are asking voters to approve Measure Q, a bond reauthorization to continue districtwide improvements.

Measure C: Cannabis tax part of creating new industry

Measure C, as put forward by the county, is a cannabis cultivation tax that will impact growers in the county's unincorporated areas.

The tax would charge $1 per square foot on outdoor cultivation sites, $2 per square foot on a mixed-light cultivation sites and $3 per square foot on indoor cultivation sites. Measure C also would be subject to annual Consumer Price Index increases.

Growing for personal use is specifically exempted.

Michael S. Green – a cannabis activist, proponent of the measure and Lakeport City Council candidate – says the tax itself is “pretty simple.”

Green said that what voters need to know is that the measure is “half of a two-part puzzle.”

The other part of the puzzle, he said, is the regulatory ordinance that's still being crafted by the county. The Lake County Planning Commission held a meeting last week in which the regulations – which would include different forms of licensing and a variety of development standards – were once more up for discussion.

Mireya Turner, an associate planner with the Lake County Community Development Department who is working on the regulations, said the department is determined to present a draft ordinance before the commission at a special meeting at 11 a.m. Dec. 15.

Green said the measure and the regulations can go on two tracks of development at the same time. “And that's exactly what the county has done. They're trying to be proactive,” and not have to wait two, four or more years to put this before voters, he said.

Measure C is not a parcel or sales tax, and will affect only the very small subset of Lake County residents who will end up with cultivation permits and state licenses, Green said.

He added that 99 percent of the people voting on the measure won't pay a dime.

It is, he maintained, an important new revenue source for a financially strapped county.

At the same time, Green believes the tax will legitimize the county's cannabis industry, which he and other supporters are trying to bring out of the shadows.

If approved by voters, Measure C wouldn't go into effect until both county regulations were set and state regulations go into effect in 2018, he said.

The county's early estimates put potential revenue at $8 million annually, a figure that Green said is in the likely range of between $4 million and $12 million.

On the “Yes on Measure C” Web site Green has created, he offers a fiscal analysis of the measure that shows scenarios for a variety of different types of licenses and how much could potentially be raised annually.

A scenario that includes a total of 200 licenses raises nearly $4.2 million annually, while 690 licenses could bring in just over $8 million and 995 licenses more than $12 million.

“You've got to pay to play,” he said.

Because Measure C is not a specific tax, the money raised from the cannabis licensing would go into the general fund. Board discussions so far have suggested that money could be used for a wide range of uses including law enforcement, code enforcement, water quality-related programs and drug abuse prevention.

Measure C also is regionally consistent with that is being considered by voters in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, Green said.

It's far better than a measure being considered in Santa Cruz County, where grows are proposed to be taxed at $25 per foot, he added.

Green called Measure C a “thoughtful” approach to beginning the process of appropriately scaling the new cannabis industry. He said a reasonable tax gives the county an incentive to foster the cannabis industry as it develops.

He said he understands that people are pretty skeptical of tax measures in general.

Green noted that there is no organized opposition to Measure C. No arguments against the measure have been submitted to the Registrar of Voters Office.

However, perhaps the biggest challenge to the measure is voter awareness, Green said.

“It's a very crowded ballot this year,” he said.

Measure Q: Yuba and Woodland Community Colleges seek bond reauthorization

The Yuba and Woodland Community Colleges are asking voters across its eight-county coverage area to approve Measure Q, which district officials said is a reauthorization of $33,565,000 in bonds approved by voters in November 2006 as Measure J.

Measure J was a $190 million Proposition 39 bond.

Measure Q would be used to continue repairing, renovating, constructing and equipping classrooms and facilities at district campuses. Programs that would benefit include nursing, health care, science, technology, engineering, fire and police training, according to the measure's language.

The ballot language calls for no increase in authorized district debt, with interest rates to be below the legal limit. It also will require a citizens oversight committee and cannot be taken by the state.

The estimated tax rate on Measure Q would be $9.18 per $100,000 of assessed value on property owners from 2017-18, according to the measure's language.

It's estimated that the total debt service amount required to be paid if Measure Q passes would be $42,823,000, which includes principal and interest.

Lake County Campus Executive Dean Annette Lee said the total Measure J investments at the Clearlake campus have totaled more than $17.3 million since the 2006 Measure J passage. 

She said that figure represents approximately 12 percent of the total Measure J expenditures to date.

Improvements on the Clearlake campus include the new life science, library resource and administration building, along with the culinary arts facility, Lee said.

Should Measure Q pass, along with the state's Educational Facility Bond, Proposition 51, Lee said the district “will be positioned well to address some much needed repairs to existing buildings across our campuses.”

She said those projects may include repainting to improve life expectancy of older building envelopes; re-plumbing older buildings; repaving parking lots and campus entry, removal and replacement of worn LCC storage units, among other items.

“There are also some Career Technical Education programs that we hope to address,” Lee said.

A group that includes retired military and educations and taxpayers submitted an argument against the measure that alleges it's not a reauthorization by, in fact, a new bond.

Another argument the group is using against Measure Q is that the district is not being specific enough with its list of projects and that “maintenance items such as re placing roofs, flooring, ceilings, electrical, plumbing, and paving should be handled through annual maintenance.”

Additional complaints the group has lodged include an allegation that the district has been a poor steward of taxpayer money and is “making it up” when it claims that the improvements will increase property values and home prices. “Not even realtors claim buyers pay more for homes in college districts.”

Opponents also raised the fact that the district issued a series of bonds under Measure J totaling $26.5 million in the spring that won't show up on tax bills until this fall.

Lee explained that the Measure J bonds issued earlier this year were part of the final series, with repayment beginning in the next fiscal year.

She also pointed out that the district refinanced earlier Measure J bonds for a total taxpayer savings of $72,333,632.

Lee emphasized that Measure Q is not a new bond.

Due to state law limitations on the issuance of bonds under Measure J passed back in 2006, the Yuba Community College District doesn't anticipate being able to issue any additional Measure J bonds in the immediate future even though the district still needs to complete some previously approved projects, Lee said.

Lee said that if Measure Q passes and the bonds are approved and issued, then Yuba Community College District will cancel and not authorize the issuance of Measure J Bonds in a like amount. 

Next up: Clearlake's three ballot measures.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.