Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • topics
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight With Vicki Gonzalez
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu

California Counts

 

A collaboration between Capital Public Radio, KQED, KPCC and KPBS to cover the 2016 elections in California.

Series and Project Archive

 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Cities Prepare To Take The Driver’s Seat In Marijuana Trade

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.

Adelanto City Councilman Johnny Bug Woodard Jr. points to a warehouse in the city's Green Zone that could be used for medical marijuana cultivation.

 

Katie Orr | KQED

In the dusty, wind-swept city of Adelanto, officials are predicting big changes on the horizon. City Councilman Johnny “Bug” Woodard Jr. is standing in front of a chain-link fence surrounding a vacant lot in the city’s Green Zone, the industrial area where Adelanto allows medical marijuana cultivation.

“What you’re looking at here is the first property to actually break ground to build a new building,” Woodard says.

It doesn’t look like much, but Woodard says this business and others like it will lead to a new future for Adelanto, a worn-down city of about 32,000 in the high desert of San Bernardino County. Since last year, when the city passed an ordinance allowing for large-scale medical marijuana cultivation, Woodard says some big names have come knocking.

“So right now we have 32 licenses that have been issued," Woodward says. "We’ve seen UCLA, USC, the City of Hope is here, the University of Mississippi is involved.”

Woodard tells of investors with gold-plated Bentleys driving down dusty city streets and pro athletes coming to visit. In an effort to capitalize on the potential investment, Adelanto has placed Measure R on its November ballot. That’s a 5 percent excise tax on all marijuana-related business within the city.

At a local cafe just down the road from the Green Zone, we run into investor Chuck Shakta. So far he and his partners have put about $3 million into their medical marijuana cultivation project. Shakta says land prices are skyrocketing.

“We’ve been close to a year and a half working on this project,” he says. “And now the prices are high, and our competitive edge is that we did start over a year ago and we secured our property.”

Woodard says the investments by Shakta and others are having a ripple effect throughout the town, which was on the verge of bankruptcy not too long ago. There are plans to build more commercial structures and homes. And investors must pledge to hire local workers when their projects are approved.

Woodard says all this movement puts Adelanto in a good position in the event California voters approve Proposition 64 and legalize recreational marijuana.

“We’re in the driver’s seat right now. We’re driving this car home,” Woodard says.

If Proposition 64 passes, local governments would have a big role in determining how — or if — cannabis-related businesses may operate within their borders.

Already, some cities are taking very different approaches to the possibility of recreational marijuana. And not all local governments are embracing the possibility of legal marijuana.

A fountain at Broadway Plaza shopping center in Walnut Creek, CA.
A fountain at Broadway Plaza shopping center in Walnut Creek.(Mac Fotog/Flickr)

The upscale Bay Area city of Walnut Creek is full of posh boutiques and high-end department stores. And the City Council doesn’t see a need to bring marijuana into the mix. It voted 4-1 on a resolution opposing the passage of Proposition 64.

Mayor Loella Haskew takes the view that recreational marijuana won’t fit well in her town.

“Walnut Creek is a really solid, tight, well-respected, respectful community,” she says. “And I’m afraid this is going to add a dynamic that isn’t comfortable for everyone.”

Police Chief Tom Chaplin agrees. He is concerned about drugged driving.

“We don’t have an agreed level of impairment,” Chaplin says. “So if we put more drugged drivers on the road and that leads to more fatalities, the air of inevitability is not a valid argument for this, what I would describe as, poorly constructed measure.”

Whatever their approach, a lot of cities are just trying to figure out what Proposition 64 could mean for them. The measure would give cities and counties the power to regulate marijuana-related activities. They could establish zoning and permitting rules. They could even ban marijuana businesses.

Tim Cromartie with the League of California Cities has been fielding a lot of questions about the measure.

“A number of cities have awakened to the economy development potential of marijuana,” he says. “Other cities continue to ban absolutely. It’s definitely going to be a potential cash cow for local jurisdictions, but it’s got to be carefully managed.”


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    More about Election 2016

  • 2016 Election Coverage: Nov. 8 General Election

    CapRadio's coverage of the 2016 elections.

    More about California Counts

  • California Counts

    More about Propositions 2016

  • Propositions 2016

 Election 2016California CountsPropositions 2016proposition 64

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

More California Counts Stories

Mostly False Claim That California Gun Control Measure Will 'Criminalize' The Sharing Of Bullets

July 12, 2016

Harris, Sanchez Advance in California Senate Race

June 8, 2016

5 Things To Know About Legalizing Recreational Pot In California

August 17, 2016

View All California Counts Stories  

Most Viewed

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Careers & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2022, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.