LOS GATOS, CA — Los Gatos is hiring a cannabis consultant to evaluate whether the town should allow commercial marijuana dispensaries.
The town council voted Tuesday to allocate $50,000 for the consultant’s services.
While marijuana is legal for recreational use across California, cannabis for retail, manufacturing or cultivation is not allowed in Los Gatos as each municipality can enact its own regulations on cannabis.
Several Bay Area cities, including San Jose, Mountain View, Foster City and San Carlos have allowed commercial cannabis operations.
In a survey of 948 Los Gatos community members, around 37 percent of respondents supported allowing commercial cannabis businesses to operate in the town.
A majority of the public that attended several public meetings beginning Jan. 2021 to study potentially allowing commercial cannabis businesses in Los Gatos signaled an interest in the tax revenue, but expressed concern and uncertainty about the health and safety impacts, according to a staff report.
The consultant would help organize community meetings, prepare a fiscal analysis, develop a cannabis ordinance, tax ordinance and potential ballot measure. The question of taxing cannabis products could come before Los Gatos voters on the November ballot.
