Fillmore OKs rules ahead of Prop. 64 vote

Fillmore became the first city in Ventura County to limit marijuana growing under Proposition 64, should the statewide legalization measure pass on Nov. 8.

Prop. 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, would immediately legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and the cultivation of up to six plants per household by anyone over age 21. Other provisions of the measure would establish a 15 percent sales tax, allow dispensaries to sell marijuana, and establish state and local permit systems for larger-scale cultivation and sale, but those aspects of the law wouldn’t fully take effect until Jan. 1, 2018.

By a 5-0 vote, the Fillmore City Council on Tuesday passed what’s known as an emergency ordinance to regulate recreational marijuana. The city ordinance would take effect immediately after the election, if Prop. 64 passes, so that no one in Fillmore would be able to grow legal marijuana without following city regulations. If the proposition fails, the city ordinance would not take effect.

The ordinance bans the cultivation of more than six plants in any one household. It bans outdoor growth operations and requires that indoor operations be inspected by city officials and have a city permit. Growing without a permit would be a misdemeanor.

To get a permit, a prospective grower would have to show that the plants would be in a structure with a lock and a security system, that they couldn’t be seen or smelled from neighboring properties or from the street, that lighting and other electrical use would be safe and not excessive, and that they would not create humidity or mold problems.

Fillmore already bans the cultivation, sale and distribution of medical marijuana. Possession and use of marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation is protected under state law and can’t be outlawed at the local level.

If Prop. 64 passes, many of the distinctions in state law between medicinal and recreational marijuana will be dropped. Cities no longer would be able to ban small-scale cultivation of either medicinal or recreational marijuana.

“All you can do is say it has to be inside, and you can impose regulations, but you can’t ban it anymore,” City Attorney Tiffany Israel told the City Council.

Marijuana grown outdoors doesn’t pose the same concerns as indoor marijuana when it comes to power usage and building codes. However, council members and law enforcement officials in Fillmore said they think outdoor marijuana would pose a crime risk.

“What we don’t want is those six plants to be growing on someone’s back patio, where someone can jump over the fence and grab the plants when they’re just about ready to harvest,” said Dave Wareham, a Ventura County Sheriff’s Office captain and the chief of Fillmore’s police force.