Licensed and Legitimate
Santa Cruz has created new cannabis cultivation laws that will aid current cannabis cultivators in the county to enter the regulated market. Cannabis farmers were encouraged by officials in Santa Cruz County to apply for licenses to obtain permits under a new ordinance that works in accordance with California’s Proposition 64.
Those who want to grow cannabis for recreational consumption were given three months to apply with the county. There were more than 950 applications received. A Cultivation Registration Update that was issued by Santa Cruz County informed applicants that non-anonymous registrants will receive a registration certificate and letter this month, however the process of becoming licensed would take more time. “The proposed ordinance is currently undergoing environmental review and it will be approximately eight months before that process is complete,” the update read. “Licenses may be issued once the environmental review process has finished and the Board passes the final ordinance. It is expected that will happen in the fall of 2017.”
Kaiya Bercow is the Co-Founder and Director of Operations at Utopia Farms, which specializes in “artisan flowers, refined extracts and nutritious edibles.” Bercow spoke with CULTURE about his company’s new endeavor into Santa Cruz’s future recreational cannabis industry and the benefits the regulated cannabis industry will bring.
“With permits and regulation and a more structured infrastructure, we can really start hiring top level talent like you would see in Silicon Valley.”
“One of the biggest game changers for us is going to be talent,” Bercow said. “With permits and regulation and a more structured infrastructure, we can really start hiring top level talent like you would see in Silicon Valley.” Additionally, Bercow looks forward to other benefits of industry oversight.
“Right now we have to try our own set of standards. We work really hard to set standards that we think are really top notch, but obviously the Planning Department can figure out some better standards as far as how to store water tanks or something along those lines. To really tap into that knowledge will be great.” He continued to share that Utopia Farms would also benefit from legal protections from insurance policies that would actually protect his company. Utopia Farms will also have a better chance of securing investors.
While there are huge benefits to these new regulations, Bercow also foresees some potential issues. Although the county is issuing permits for large indoor grow operations, Bercow fears that is will be near impossible to find a permitted spot to grow cannabis on a large scale.
“Zoning and setbacks are really restrictive. So they have the typical zoning requirements that you are seen in pretty much every city. But then they make it even more dramatic by saying, ‘There is going to be a two-mile buffer from the coastal line.’ So if you look at a map and you kind of look at that two-mile buffer, and say, ‘Okay. Where are these zoning areas that fall within it?’ You notice that most of the map now disappears, except for the mountains,” Bercow said. “And the mountains aren’t zoned correctly for commercial cultivation. They’re not banning it, but they’re really heavily restricting it based on zoning.”
Bercow also shared that the popularity of Santa Cruz as a place to live will further restrict large-scale indoor cannabis grow operations from finding an available property that is within the proper zoning. The county is still in the review process of its ordinance, and in the meantime cannabis cultivators must wait to see what regulations roll out.
