A number of California cities have advanced ballot initiatives in 2022:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
Beach Cities Leading the Way
Four beach cities have citizen-led ballot measures set to be voted on, either in November or early next year. They are: El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. These city governments are separately considering ordinances to manage where cannabis businesses may be allowed to operate.
In El Segundo, the City Council voted unanimously to place a residents’ initiative on the November 8 ballot, seeking to repeal El Segundo’s ban on commercial cannabis. Currently, El Segundo only allows at-home cannabis cultivation. The El Segundo council is pursuing its own initiative.
El Segundo is the latest among the beach cities to pursue ballot measures. Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach voters will also decide on November 8 whether to allow cannabis sales in their individual cities. Redondo Beach will place an initiative on its March 7, 2023, general election ballot asking voters whether the city should repeal its existing ban on cannabis and potentially allow 3 dispensaries in town.
The June 6 election produced an interesting result out of Orange County’s Huntington Beach. Like almost all cities in Orange County, Huntington Beach prohibits the sale of medical and recreational cannabis. Ballot Measure A sought to impose a special tax on gross receipts of potential cannabis retailers and was seen as a way to gauge local interest in eventually legalizing cannabis. Under Measure A, the taxes would be earmarked to fund police, homeless prevention, behavioral health services and intervention programs. However, Measure A required a two-thirds (66.67%) super-majority. While the election results have not been certified, it appears as of this writing that the measure may have fallen short, garnering 64.84%. |