Sonoma City Council to dip into cannabis, tasting room regulation

It could be a bad week coming up for intoxicants, with the City Council poised to extend a moratorium on new wine tasting rooms and pass an ordinance banning cannabis-related businesses within city limits.

At their Monday, Sept. 24 meeting, the council will likely extend for the second time the urgency ordinance first enacted in December restricting tasting rooms; in her staff report to the council, City Manager Cathy Capriola recommended doing so.

Also, after two years of public meetings, study and preparation, the council will formally introduce its long-awaited cannabis ordinance. The city's Planning Commission has recommended passage.

Residents will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed ordinance at the Sept. 24 meeting, after which the council will discuss the ordinance and vote.

The proposed cannabis ordinance deals with two main issues, cultivation and sale. With regard to cultivation, as it is currently written the ordinance would allow as many as six plants at a private residence, three of which could be outside.

'I'm very happy that people will be able to grow their own marijuana inside and outside. I felt that was a really good thing that the council put forth,' said Councilmember David Cook in a phone interview.

With regard to commercial cannabis, dispensaries, retail establishments, manufacturing and testing facilities would be prohibited. The only exception would be medical cannabis deliveries done by licensed businesses based outside the city.

'I do like the fact that we are going to allow deliveries,' Cook said. 'I've aways been a proponent of medical marijuana.'

The councilmember added, 'I'm not even against recreational cannabis. The only reason I voted against a dispensary in Sonoma is because the city is so small. There are other places in unincorporated areas of the Sonoma Valley that make a lot more sense,' he said, referring to past council votes.

Both elements of the ordinance have numerous conditions, including, for instance, that any personal cannabis grown outdoors must not be within 100 feet of a school, church, park, library or other youth-oriented facility. Personal greenhouses are considered to be 'indoors.'

The Planning Commission on Sept. 13 recommended the proposed ordinance for adoption. The commission also recommended that the topics of allowing dispensaries and outdoor cultivation at apartment complexes be discussed by the Planning Commission if the ordinance were to be adopted.

The council has spent nearly two years on the issue, which arose in 2016 after the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized non-medicinal use of cannabis for people over 21, as well as cultivation of as many as six plants per residence. The new legislation also established a state licensing process for cannabis businesses.

While the legislation was effective statewide, it also gave cities latitude to adopt rules and regulations on cannabis – and cities all over the state have been grappling with the issue since then.

If the council passes the ordinance on the first reading Monday, it is almost certainly going to pass on the second reading, which is scheduled for Oct. 1. If the ordinance passes on the second reading, it will go into effect 30 days later.

On Monday, the council will also take action regarding wine tasting rooms, which have been a hot topic in recent years. Some residents have called for limits on the tasting rooms. Others say the number of establishments shouldn't be limited because they attract tourists and contribute sales tax to city coffers, along with other economic benefits.

The city has been working on the issue since early 2017, putting an urgency moratorium into effect in December of that year to allow time to study the issue. Efforts included a February 2018 Planning Commission meeting, two April town halls for residents and numerous meetings with businesses located in the Plaza.

The planning staff is still formalizing regulations for tasting rooms. Extending the moratorium would give the planning commission time to complete the proposed regulations.

If the moratorium is extended, which is expected to happen, the next step will be for the City Council to weigh in on the proposed regulations.

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 24, at the City Council Chambers, 177 First St. W., Sonoma.

Reach Janis Mara at janis.mara@sonomanews.com.