In June 2018, the voters approved Ordinance No. 18-06 prohibiting all "commercial cannabis activity" in the City, defined to include cultivation, possession, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery and sales of cannabis and cannabis goods.
Measure L , placed on the ballot by a petition signed by the requisite number of voters, would provide an exemption from enforcement to allow "commercial cannabis activity" in certain areas of the City:
- Retail cannabis businesses would only be allowed in the General Commercial (C-1/C-P) and Rubidoux Village Commercial (R-VC ) zones;
- Other commercial cannabis businesses would be allowed in these zones and in the Manufacturing-Service Commercial (MS-C ) and Business Park (B-P ) zones.
Measure L provides for the following regulations of these businesses:
- seven cannabis retailers allowed in the City at this time based on one cannabis retailer may receive exempt status for every 15,000 residents;
- Only three commercial cannabis businesses can be located within a 1,000-feet radius of one another, but no set limit on the number of cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, or laboratory testing facilities that can obtain exempt status;
- Commercial cannabis businesses cannot be located within a 600-foot radius of a school providing instruction in kindergarten or any grades 1 through 12 existing at the time the application is filed;
- No radius restrictions may be imposed by the City on commercial cannabis business near day care or youth centers.
- Commercial cultivation is prohibited outdoors;
- Only $200 in cash overnight and no one under 21 allowed in commercial cannabis businesses; and
- All commercial cannabis businesses would require a state license
No discretionary permit is required to be issued by the City before a cannabis business can operate in the City. "Priority" applicants can apply before "non-priority" applicants to obtain exempt status if they filed a Statement by Unincorporated Association with the California Secretary of State before September 1, 2016 that contains certain language. If the application is deemed complete and complies with the zoning and location restrictions set forth above, a cannabis business can operate in the City, subject to the provisions of the Measure.
Commercial cannabis businesses would be required to pay the City the following annual tax for general governmental purposes:
- A maximum of $25 per square foot of space used for retail cannabis sales.
- A maximum of $3 per square foot for space used in connection with all other commercial cannabis activity. The annual tax to be collected is dependent on the size and number of cannabis businesses that operate in the City each year. The City Council is authorized to lower the tax rates but voter approval is required to increase the tax. This local tax is in addition to taxes imposed and collected by the State.
A “Yes” vote on Measure L allows cannabis businesses to operate in certain areas of Jurupa Valley, subject to regulation and tax. A “No” vote is against the operation of cannabis businesses in the City.
Dated: August 6, 2018
By:Peter M. Thorson, City Attorney, City of Jurupa Valley
The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure L. If you desire a copy of the Measure, please call the elections official’s office at (951) 332-6464 and it will be mailed at no cost to you.