When voters approved Proposition 64, the 2016 initiative that legalized recreational marijuana sales in California, 62 percent of Los Gatos residents voted for the measure.
But Prop. 64 allowed municipalities to prohibit dispensaries within their jurisdictions, so Los Gatos banned them.
Today, there are 42 retail cannabis dispensaries in our area, Town Attorney Rob Schultz said. The coverage area he cited extends from the Peninsula to San Jose.
Schultz is reaching out to Los Gatos community groups, service clubs and other organizations to encourage residents to participate in a survey that will help decide if the town council allows retail cannabis sales.
“San Jose has 16 dispensaries that pay $17 million to the city annually,” Schultz said. “San Jose is looking to expand the number of dispensaries it allows—where do they want to go? Right on our border because there’s an unmet need here.”
Schultz’s comments came at the Sept. 9 Los Gatos Kiwanis Club meeting, where several members reacted to the idea.
Rosalie Patterson called it “the dumbing down of America,” while another asked, “Is there a problem with dirtbag stoners hanging out?”
Schultz said, “There’s very little crime with it. The state has done a good job regulating it.”
He also said Los Gatos can set its own rules, including limiting the number of dispensaries.
“I wouldn’t recommend allowing more than three,” he said. “You can require security, surveillance cameras, create school and residential neighborhood buffers, and regulate the appearance so they fit into the community.”
He said, too, that the town could limit storefront licenses to mom and pop and/or minority business owners.
“The ‘big boys’ are coming in now,” he added.
Schultz, who has visited numerous dispensaries in the Bay Area and Southern California, is not advocating for or against them.
“The big issue is what are the impacts of allowing these businesses in town. Ample parking, public safety, traffic, lighting—those are the main issues I’ve identified,” Schultz said. “Normally, dispensaries are in industrial zones. The problem here is our industrial zone.”
Los Gatos has a handful of areas zoned for commercial industrial and controlled manufacturing, two of which have overlay zones designated as housing.
Industrial Way, which runs from Andrews Street to Blossom Hill Road, has numerous auto body shops that straddle University Avenue. The Los Gatos Ballet studio, Los Gatos Plumbing Supply, Campo di Bocce, the Manresa Commissary, and homes and apartments are nearby as well.
To Schultz, the question comes down to money.
“Why would you do it if you’re not going to make any money?” he asked.
Schultz estimates revenues from one or two dispensaries could increase town coffers by as much as $1.5 million on the high end and $250,000 on the low end “if they weren’t successful.”
When a Kiwanian said, “We don’t need the money,” Schultz replied that “town expenses continue to rise and revenues are not.” He also indicated that tax hikes may be in the works to help pay for town services.
This November, the Los Gatos Union School District will ask voters to renew the existing $290 school parcel tax for eight years, add another $45 on top of that, with annual two percent increases built in.
The town council decided in January to seek resident input on cannabis questions, which is the reason for the survey. It can be found at wklys.co/lgcsurvey.
It will be online through Oct. 22.
After the survey results are in, the town council will decide what, if any, next steps should be taken.
“I expect it will go back to the council by the end of the year and we’ll drill down on the numbers that can be attained,” Schultz said.
If the town council decides to move forward, Los Gatos voters would then decide if cannabis sales should be taxed. The tax question would be included on the November 2022 ballot, Schultz said.
