CPG recommends indoor-only cannabis cultivation

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Fallbrook Community Planning Group has recommended that the proposed revision of the county's cannabis ordinance include a restriction that cultivation should be indoors in facilities which are locked when not in use.

The planning group voted 14-Sept. 0 20, with Tom Harrington absent, to approve the recommendation which had previously been recommended by the planning group's Ad Hoc Cannabis Ordinance Committee.

"I certainly hope the county listens to what our recommendations are," said planning group chair Eileen Delaney.

"It's at least letting the county know what Fallbrook wants. We can't stop it, but we can control it to a certain level," said planning group first vice-chair Roy Moosa.

When the board of supervisors adopted the county's medical marijuana ordinance in 2010 dispensaries were restricted to land with industrial M50, M52, M54 and M58 zoning. A 4-1 board of supervisors vote Jan. 27, with Jim Desmond opposed, directed the development of Zoning Ordinance and Regulatory Code amendments which would repeal the existing ordinance restricting medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries and cultivation, allow the sale of edible and drinkable as well as smokable cannabis products, allow cannabis retail sales in areas with commercial and industrial zoning, allow cannabis cultivation in agriculturally-zoned areas, allow cannabis product manufacturing, distribution and testing in industrial-zoned areas, allow for a cannabis microbusiness license in areas with agricultural, commercial or industrial zoning, create a "social equity" program which gives individuals with past cannabis arrests and those in "disproportionately impacted areas" greater opportunities to secure an operating permit, allow for on-site consumption of cannabis products at specified cannabis facilities and permitted events, reduce the separation requirements for a dispensary, require a "labor peace agreement" with a labor union for every 10th employee at a cannabis facility, seek grant funding to implement the social equity program, and exclude cannabis from the medical pre-screening process for county employees.

The planning group's Ad Hoc Cannabis Ordinance Committee was created at the Feb. 15 planning group meeting. The committee reviews various elements of the proposed revised ordinance. The Aug. 16 planning group meeting included a recommendation of a 1,000-foot separation between dispensaries and sensitive sites (defined as public and private schools, child care centers, parks, playgrounds, sports activity venues, libraries and churches) and also recommended that dispensaries not be allowed in the Fallbrook Village zones.

"I'm thankful that we have a community that's working together to come up with recommendations," Delaney said.

"I think they're heading in the right direction," Moosa said.