Growing Appreciation
Laguna Hills city lawmakers have resolved to comply with state law and allow the limited personal cultivation of cannabis inside a person’s private residence. On March 14, the Laguna Hills City Council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance. Last November, California voters approved Proposition 64, which allows individuals to grow a limited amount of cannabis at home. Ultimately, the council approved Zoning Text Amendment No. 2-17-3793, which amends Title 9 of the Laguna Hills Municipal Code to allow at-home cannabis cultivation. However, the city will decide on the possibilities of requiring permits for at-home cultivation and restricting outdoor gardens.
This is positive news for patients and recreational consumers living in the city. In 2013, the city formally banned medical cannabis dispensaries. The new ordinance would allow Laguna Hills city residents to grow no more than six plants per residence, so long as the plants are out of public view. It also requires plants that produce more than 28.5 grams must be stored within a locked space.
“I’d like to try to find out how to go forward as we do in other cities and with what their experience is and what that expense might be because it may be worth budgeting to spend some money on regulating the recreational marijuana cultivation in our city.”
One of the main issues at hand was the issue of requiring a permit for personal cultivation sites, but the council agreed to hold off on requiring permits at this time. The neighboring cities of Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano all allow indoor personal cultivation, but have banned outdoor personal cultivation. Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and San Clemente also do not require any kind of permit for adults who would like to grow cannabis at home.
The motion to regulate personal cannabis cultivation was supported by the Mayor Don Sedgwick. Mayor Sedgwick wasn’t sure, however, if permits should be required. “I think that it’s possible that it may be the right decision for us to issue permits for [personal cultivation], partly due to what was brought up as far as all the neighboring cities requiring what we don’t,” Mayor Sedgwick said at the council meeting. “I’d like to try to find out how to go forward as we do in other cities and with what their experience is and what that expense might be, because it may be worth budgeting to spend some money on regulating the recreational marijuana cultivation in our city.”
Although the issue of growing cannabis outdoors was also discussed, in which Councilmembers Barbara Kogerman and Janine Heft expressed concerns on the issue, which were the possible smell of outdoor cannabis gardens and the ambiguity of Prop. 64, no decision was made on the topic as of yet.
The ordinance will obtain a final vote on April 11 when The Laguna Hills City Council revisits the issue for clarification. The ordinance will present no fiscal burden on the city, and it will make cannabis more accessible to adults who wish to grow at home.
