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City holds tightly to local control of medical marijuana
Crash course
By Lea Boyd
Fear of losing local control over medical marijuana cultivation and distribution drove a Carpinteria City Council decision to amend local zoning code at its Jan. 12 meeting. A new state law has municipalities throughout California scrambling to firm up their land use codes by a March deadline in order to avoid handing over rights to the state for licensing of local activities related to medical marijuana growth and sales. “We are trying to make it crystal clear to the state, so that they know what we’re regulating,” said the city’s legal counsel Dylan Johnson in his presentation to the council. The city passed a zoning ordinance in 2007 that banned medical marijuana dispensaries and restricted cultivation and delivery of medical marijuana to the patient and a primary caregiver, which could be a family member or friend who takes care of the licensed medical marijuana user. Last October, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which establishes a state licensing and regulatory framework for the cultivation, transportation, distribution and sale of medical marijuana. Unless a city has land use regulations in place by March 1 to regulate or prohibit the cultivation of medical marijuana, the state will become the licensing authority for cultivation within the city. Additionally, if a city fails to explicitly prohibit delivery of medical marijuana within its boundaries, the state can become the licensor for delivery. No deadline was set for when the delivery code must be in place. Though the city council unanimously supported the zoning code amendment intended to clarify existing language in order to retain local power over medical marijuana activities, the planning commission had supported a different version of the amendment last week. A commission majority opted to strike the explicit ban of deliveries due to the added burden it could create on patients and caregivers who have to leave town to obtain medical marijuana to ease suffering. Commissioners also noted that the state’s lack of a deadline for that side of the new licensing law afforded the city more time to consider how to approach delivery services, which have become a more common means of purchasing medical marijuana. The council weighed the commission’s input, but decided that the potential loss of local control created urgency for action. Mayor Gregg Carty said that he didn’t want to stand in the way of a medical marijuana user securing the product but felt that it is relatively easy to obtain. “I don’t want to say marijuana is everywhere, but marijuana is everywhere,” he said. “I doubt a legitimate medical marijuana user is going to have a
COUNCIL continued on page 5
DAvID POWDReLL
Jay Geftakys and Reg Coldren take in a water show at Jelly Bowl that would put the Bellagio to shame. Big surf came to town with el Niño last week, and the two are expected to pair up again this weekend for the Rincon Classic. The long running surf contest is set to begin on Friday, Jan. 15 and run through Sunday, Jan. 17 at Rincon Point. For more information on the event, visit rinconclassic.com. For more photos of last week’s storm, see page 11.
Baseball field named after Little League volunteer David Crooks received a surprise gift the day after his 60th birthday when the Carpinteria City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 12 to name an el Carro Park baseball field the David Patrick Crooks Field. Crooks helped to charter Carpinteria Little League in 1996 and has volunteered tirelessly for the organization ever since. In his nearly 20 years of unpaid support, Crooks has umpired around 1,000 baseball games. “you couldn’t pick a better guy to name something after in this town,” said former Little League dad Mike Damron. “Although there are lots of us who started the league, I would say David Crooks is the league.” In a letter to the city, Crooks’ son Kyle advocated for the naming of the field after his father. He noted that David started donating his time in 1997, “and since then, my father has not taken a year off. He was the inaugural president and has stepped back into that role several times. He’s been a coach, groundskeeper, hot dog slinger, PR personality and protector.” The city council chambers were packed with enthusiastic supporters on Monday night for the decision to name the southernmost baseball diamond. New signage will go up at the field to honor David’s twodecade dedication. “you see, most parents have no problem coaching and supporting their kids through
BOyD
david Crooks receives a proclamation from Mayor Gregg Carty to rename an el Carro Park baseball diamond in Crooks’ honor. different seasons of life,” stated Kyle. “Something unique in my father is that his sons have come and gone, but he has not.”