Following voter approval of questions 2A and 2B, City staff will be working with the City’s appointed and elected officials to develop the next steps regarding marijuana licensing and permitting of marijuana-related businesses. The City anticipates local regulations pertaining to retail licensing is estimated to be complete in the Fall of 2021. Information and updates will continue to be made available on the City’s website.
The passage of 2A and 2B constitutes a new funding source to support enforcement and implementation related to the new marijuana-related businesses that will be coming to the community. Revenue from retail marijuana is also dedicated to build, operate and maintain the highest priorities in the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan, which was adopted by City Council on January 6, 2021. A summary of the plan as well as the full plan is found at http://www.gjparksandrec.org.
The PROS plan, driven by community engagement, lays out over $157 million in projects and priorities for the next 8 to 10 years. Since this new revenue stream will take many months to establish, funds for the PROS projects will not be available for several months. The City will follow the regular budgetary process for considering capital projects city-wide, including parks and recreation. Priorities in the PROS plan will be folded into the 2022 budgeting process, as well as subsequent annual budgets, and the new funding source will enable deeper and more rapid progress towards those priorities.
Contact: Greg LeBlanc, Sr. Assistant to the City Manager | 970-244 1557 or gregoryl@gjcity.org