CLEARLAKE, Calif. – During its Thursday evening meeting, the Clearlake City Council extended an emergency ordinance that it originally passed last month to put a moratorium in place on growing industrial hemp in the city limits.
All of the council members were present in the council chambers, though seated farther apart, for the half-hour meeting.
City Attorney Ryan Jones said the council first passed the ordinance at its April 16 meeting.
With the initial 45-day time period of the urgency ordinance expiring, Jones said staff was asking for the council to extend it another 10 months and 15 days.
He said that staff hopes to have new regulations in place before then. “But it is going to take some time.”
Jones said the city plans to have an ad hoc committee work on the rules, which would also involve input from the planning commission and council.
“We think that is for the best of the community at this point,” he said.
There were no comments from the council or submitted by the public on the item, which was the main piece of business during the brief meeting.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton moved to approve the extension of the urgency ordinance, with Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten seconding and the council approving the motion unanimously.
Also on Thursday, City Manager Alan Flora told the council that most of staff’s time over the last several weeks has been devoted to developing a new fiscal year budget.
“We’re not in the same position as many other cities in California,” but it’s still going to be a very tight budget, Flora said, explaining that it’s taking a lot of effort to make sure it’s a structurally balanced budget.
He said he got gas tax projections from the state which show that revenue source is expected to have a 9-percent reduction. Flora called it “a significant drop but not devastating”.”
Flora also reported that the Austin Park project is nearing completion. That day, the new playground equipment was installed, with the bandstand nearly complete, just needing its metal roofing installed. At the same time, a new metal roof will be installed on the bathroom facilities, which have been stripped out on the inside.
Flora said that this week paving of the parking lots and a section on Uhl Avenue that’s never been paved before will take place.
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Clearlake City Council extends moratorium on industrial hemp growing
- Elizabeth Larson
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