Thursday, June 14, 2018

[Shasta County] Shasta Lake moved too fast on cannabis industry, grand jury says

The city of Shasta Lake rushed too quickly to effectively plan for the growth of cannabis businesses in that city, the Shasta County grand jury said Monday in its most recent report.
And, it said, the city should stop all planned development in its Shasta Gateway Industrial Park complex, which has been zoned for marijuana-related businesses until it adds a secondary access road there.
Shasta Lake City Manager John Duckett said Monday he was taken a little aback by the grand jury's report, saying the city has a comprehensive set of rules in place to regulate the operation of marijuana-related businesses.
"I was a little disappointed," Duckett said, noting the city has worked long and hard on those regulations to try to prevent potential problems.
In its 18-page report, entitled "Green Rush...Up in Smoke?,"  the grand jury said Shasta Lake was the first in Shasta County to sanction the legal recreational cannabis industry to operate within the city limits.
Measure A was put to the voters to allow the recreational cannabis-related industry to start, effective Jan.1, 2018.
The jury said it investigated the circumstances surrounding the planning, implementation and follow-up of Measure A to determine what planning took place prior to the vote and after it.
"In its rush to become the first Shasta County city to permit recreational cannabis businesses, the city of Shasta Lake ineffectively planned for the increase of cannabis businesses in the city," the report claimed. "This resulted in multiple unexpected changes in planning and permitting procedures based upon infrastructure demands, which was exacerbated when the city chose to zone the Shasta Gateway Industrial Park for cannabis-related businesses."
Additionally, it said, all planned development should stop in the Shasta Gateway Industrial Park until the city adds a secondary access road to meet its legal and safety obligations.
Furthermore, it said, the city of Shasta Lake should increase its code enforcement staffing and create safe and effective methods of collecting and transporting the cash it collects.
In it's report, the jury said it focused on six key areas and how the city of Shasta Lake would handle a number of issues.
They include: laws and regulations that should be passed to oversee the new businesses, the plans for law enforcement needs and the proposed collecting and safeguarding of cannabis-related tax monies.
They also include preventing misuse of cash transaction funds by city officials and employees, the planned additional city services for the incoming businesses and the conflict between state and federal law relating to the cannabis industry..
June 11, 2018
Record Searchlight
By Jim Schultz


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