After several meetings and public forums, the Huntington Beach City Council will vote Nov. 15 to prepare an amendment that would lift the ban on cannabis businesses in the city.
If passed, cannabis businesses would be allowed in the city under certain guidelines.
The current recommendations before the council are to restrict such businesses within 1,000 feet from K–12 schools and 600 feet from parks, licensed daycares, and youth centers.
The beachfront of Huntington Harbor and a stretch of beach along the city’s downtown areas would be off-limits for the businesses.
Retail cannabis businesses would be permitted in multi-storefront buildings, but delivery-only operations would only be permitted in industrial zones, along with other non-retail outlets.
According to one Huntington Beach resident, more input is needed on the issue from the public.
“Legalized recreational cannabis businesses popping up all over Huntington Beach will dramatically and forever change the character of the city for the worse,” Russel Neal said in an email to the council, which is part of the public file. “I recommend you pause this freight train until adequate public notice and discussion has occurred.”
The city has been discussing and debating the issue for nearly a year.
If passed, further discussions and community outreach will continue until final regulations are signed by the city council next spring.
In preparation, the city put forward a Nov. 8 ballot measure to tax such businesses, should they ultimately be allowed. Currently, the measure was winning 54.24 percent to 45.76 percent, according to results released Nov. 14 by the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
Whether voters want cannabis businesses in the city or not, they seem to agree that, if allowed, they should be taxed so funding could benefit the city.
“All we are doing at this point,” resident Heather Trudnich wrote to the council, “is giving tax money that would go to us, to other cities nearby. “We do use cannabis in the city of HB and we’re losing tons of money by dragging behind the times.”
