KERN COUNTY, Calif. — The Kern County Board of Supervisors are expected to consider a recommendation that could bring back medical cannabis dispensaries to the county.
At the board meeting next Tuesday afternoon, the Planning and Natural Resources Department is expected to propose two different options for the board to consider.
The first option is the board can begin the process to implement an ordinance which would take several months, but staff says if the current initiative on the March 2020 ballot passes, it would outweigh that ordinance.
The second option is the board can put their own initiative on the March 2020 ballot that would require the retailers to be licensed by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control, be more than 1,000 feet away from parks, schools, churches, city limits and more. They would also be required to apply for the permit every three years and pay a business tax.
The recommendations come after Supervisor Zack Scrivner brought up concerns a few weeks ago about a ballot measure that will be on the March 2020 ballot.
"For one thing, it would allow for all the dispensaries that were open before January 1st, 2018 to reopen," said Scrivner. "And so I can see a town like Rosamond, where we've had as many as 20 at one point, being inundated once again because of customers coming in from LA County."
The recommendations are expected to be presented at the 2 p.m. board of supervisors meeting next Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
