No Cannabis Ban So Far
Planning Commissions Advise Awaiting State Laws in March
The Montecito Planning Commission held a lengthy hearing in late December on the proposed ordinance to ban delivery and cultivation of marijuana. The overall mood of the commission was very supportive of local cannabis-related outfits. The ban was seen as a drastic step that could severely impact law-abiding businesses, and as such they drew up a resolution to not adopt such a proposal.
Public comment came from Thomas Martin, whose medical marijuana company has been in business for 10 years. Both Martin and the company botanist gave detailed, passionate testimony against the ban, instead urging officials to adopt state regulations due to go into effect on March 1, 2016. The Commission sided with them in the end, although there was some concern that the state regulations to be adopted have not been drawn up yet.
From here the issue was sent to the County Planning Commission with similar results; the vote was 5-0 not to adopt the ban. The matter will go next to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision, but the trend seems clear.
