Sebastopol Adopts Comprehensive Cannabis Ordinance
March 12, 2018 – On March 6, 2018 the Sebastopol City Council approved a comprehensive cannabis ordinance that would allow a number of different cannabis uses within the city. The ordinance will go into effect on April 6, 2018 at which point the City will start accepting applications. The new rules are among the most progressive in Sonoma County. Sebastopol is our hometown, and our office submitted comments to the Planning Commission and City Council which helped shape the final ordinance.
Under Sebastopol’s new cannabis ordinance, the following types of activities would be allowed in various zones of the city as either a Permitted Use or a Conditionally Permitted Use: storefront retail (of which the City already has two, which is its current limit); delivery-retail (of which the City can have up to three, two of which are expected to go to the existing dispensaries); commercial cultivation (indoor, outdoor, mixed-light and nursery); testing laboratories; non-volatile manufacturing; distribution; processing; packaging and labeling; microbusinesses; and cannabis special events.
The ordinance also protects personal cultivation for medicinal patients and adults over the age of 21 in all residential districts within the City. Adults may cultivate no more than 6 mature plants, and the location of these adult-use plants is not regulated by the ordinance. However, cultivation for personal medical use is limited to 100 sq. ft. per patient and no more than 500 sq. ft. per caregiver. Of this, a maximum of 200 sq. ft. may be permitted outdoors for caregivers, and the rest must be indoors.
Please contact our office for more information about Sebastopol’s cannabis regulations and for copies of the application materials.
This information is provided as a public service and is not intended as legal advice. For assistance with obtaining local permits and state licenses for commercial cannabis activities, including within the City of Sebastopol or elsewhere, please contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa at (707) 829-0215 or info@omarfigueroa.com to schedule a confidential legal consultation.