California has 58 counties and 482 incorporated cities across the state, each with the option to create its own rules or ban marijuana altogether. In this California Cannabis Countdown series, we cover who is banning cannabis, who is embracing cannabis (and how), and everyone in between. For each city and county, we’ll discuss its location, history with cannabis, current law, and proposed law to give you a clearer picture of where to locate your California cannabis business, how to keep it legal, and what you will and won’t be allowed to do.

Our last California Cannabis Countdown post was on the City of Cotati, an before that, the City of San Luis Obispo, the City of Redding, the City of San Rafael, the City of Hayward, Alameda County, Oakland, San Francisco, Sonoma County, the City of Davis, the City of Santa Rosa, County and City of San Bernardino, Marin County, Nevada County, the City of Lynwood, the City of Coachella, Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Desert Hot Springs, Sonoma County, the City of Sacramento, the City of Berkeley, Calaveras County, Monterey County and the City of Emeryville.

Today’s post is on the town of Truckee.

Welcome to the California Cannabis Countdown.

Location . Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County. Truckee is about 200 miles northeast of San Francisco and is just a short drive to Lake Tahoe. With its historic (and often bustling) downtown, background views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and proximity to world class ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area, Truckee has become an attractive tourist destination. If you’re driving during the winter make sure to bring snow chains as you don’t want to veer off the road, get lost, and meat (pun intended) the fate of the Donner Party.

History with Cannabis : Truckee is known for its open beautiful landscape but no one would ever say it’s a jurisdiction that’s been open to cannabis. Dating back to 2005 the city adopted an interim ordinance prohibiting dispensaries. In 2008 the Community Development Director released a statement that dispensaries were not allowed under Truckee’s Development Code. It was only in 2015, when the California state legislature passed the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act and the Adult Use of Marijuana Act was going to be placed on the 2016 statewide ballot, that Truckee decided to revisit its prohibitionist stance towards cannabis. At this point the Town Council began to earnestly look into the feasibility of regulating cannabis businesses in jurisdiction. To gauge community feedback the Town Council held public workshops in February, March, April, and May of 2017. After those workshops the Council held three public meetings that focused on the following options: 1) continued prohibition; 2) allowing only commercial medicinal access; or 3) allowing medicinal and adult-use access. In the end the Truckee Planning Commission developed Resolution 2018-04 (“Resolution”) that would authorize delivery services.

Proposed Cannabis Laws: The proposed Resolution is by no means a gigantic step for Truckee cannabis businesses, but it’s still a step in the right direction. And a step forward is still better than the status quo of outright prohibition. Here are some of the Resolution’s highlights:

Allows for both medical and adult-use delivery services;

All other cannabis activities are prohibited (unfortunately);

The buffer from schools, day care centers, and youth centers would be 1,000 feet as opposed to the state’s 600 foot requirement;

The delivery service shall be in a fixed structure and not open to the public;

There are no caps on the number of licenses;

A license is only transferable with the approval of the Community Development Director; and

The term of license is for perpetuity so long as the licensee is operating in compliance with local and state law.

If you’ve been following the slow rollout of cannabis licenses from California’s state agencies, you know that the biggest impediment to securing a cannabis permit has been local regulations. Would we like to see local jurisdictions reasonably regulate all seed to sale license types? Of course we would, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t encourage smaller locales that decide to take their first step into regulating cannabis. This is especially true when a local jurisdiction is putting in place regulations to provide patients and consumers with access to tested cannabis as opposed to forcing residents to buy from the black market.

Making sure Californians have access to cannabis through delivery services has also faced initial hurdles in 2018, so having smaller locales, like Truckee, authorize cannabis delivery will benefit all legal cannabis operators along the supply chain. A hearing on the Resolution was held two weeks ago, but the Planning Commission continued the matter to the next Commission meeting, which will be held on April 26 at 6pm. We’ve seen how public support (and opposition) can sway undecided local legislators so if you want safe access to cannabis in Truckee, it’s paramount that you show up at the Planning Commission meeting!