Will Lynwood be the First City in L.A. County to Approve Cultivation?

On Tuesday, September 6, the city of Lynwood in Los Angeles County approved an ordinance that would allow for the city’s first cultivation and production permits. Lynwood would be the first city in L.A. County to issue licenses permitting the growing and manufacture of cannabis, pending an additional reading.

On Tuesday night, in a close 3-2 vote, the Lynwood City Council approved an ordinance on first reading that will allow cannabis cultivation and production within city limits. The ordinance must go through another reading before it passes. Only council members José-Luis Solache and Maria Teresa Santillan-Beas voted against it.

CalCann Holdings attorney Aaron Herzberg expects that the Lynwood law will allow for five businesses to receive cultivation permits. “All facilities approved for medical marijuana will be grandfathered in to allow for licensing under Proposition 64 (recreational marijuana) if it passes on Nov. 8, 2016,” a representative from Herzberg’s office told LA Weekly.

As for unincorporated areas, L.A. County has banned cannabis cultivation. According to NORML’s Dale Gieringer, local permits could allow growing before state-issued cultivation permits emerge in 2018. In 2018, the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act will go into effect and the state of California can begin issuing licenses.

Lynwood Mayor Pro-Tem Aide Castro says she would approve cultivation around the Alameda Corridor, however, she wants to extend the 600-foot buffer zone between schools to 1000 feet. Mayor Castro stressed that she doesn’t want to be the “next Humboldt County.” In the September 6 vote, the original 600-foot buffer was retained in the language of the proposed ordinance.

Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors rely on zoning laws in order to crack down on collectives and other cannabis-related businesses. Lynwood city officials hope that cultivation in the city of Lynwood will generate tax revenue at a municipal level.