Board adopts pilot program allowing retail cannabis sales at farms and limited consumption lounges with new safeguards

Santa Cruz County supervisors approved a three‑year pilot program authorizing retail cannabis sales at qualifying farm sites and moving forward with a framework to permit regulated on‑site consumption in licensed cannabis lounges, with conditions aimed at reducing public safety risks.

The Board voted to advance the ordinance after extended public comment and internal debate on how to balance support for the local cannabis economy with concerns about impaired driving, youth exposure and public health. The final actions include requiring reservation systems for certain farm sales, directing the Cannabis Licensing Office to develop enforceable policies that could include license suspension or revocation if on‑site consumption is found to lead to impaired‑driving harm, and asking county staff to seek funding for a server‑training curriculum.

Public comment was mixed: dozens of growers, retailers and tourism proponents said regulated on‑site consumption and farm retail would help a struggling local industry, support small growers and create tourism opportunities. Local public safety, health and school officials — and several supervisors — urged caution, citing concerns about impaired driving on rural roads and youth exposure. The County Highway Patrol told supervisors that testing for cannabis impairment presents enforcement challenges compared with alcohol.

Key provisions adopted: the county amended code chapters to allow farm retail sales under Chapter 13.10 provisions and to create a new 7.138 business license category for cannabis farm retail. The board directed the Cannabis Licensing Office to require applicants to describe safety plans, including measures to prevent drivers from consuming on site, allow public notification and appeal for conditional approvals, and to require monitoring/auditable controls for consumption areas.

Votes and directions: the board approved the ordinance and related zoning code amendments with an alternate motion that struck a county‑specific one‑ounce daily cap and instead left the statutory state limit in place while also directing a reservation requirement. That measure passed on a 3‑2 vote (Supervisors Koenig, Cummings and Chair Hernandez in favor; Supervisors DeCerpa and Martinez opposed.) The board also voted unanimously to direct staff to return with proposed language allowing license suspensions or revocations where on‑site consumption led to driving‑related harm. Separately the board unanimously directed staff to pursue funding sources and partnerships to develop a server/educational curriculum to reduce over‑serving and improve consumer safety.

County staff said the pilot will include a public notice and administrative review process and that applications would be subject to site‑level reviews before receiving final licenses. The Cannabis Licensing Office will return to the board with specific licensing language and enforcement options before the pilot is implemented, as requested by supervisors.

Supporters of the pilot said it helps small local farmers and offers an educational space for consumers; opponents said the county’s rural roads and lack of reliable roadside impairment testing make lounges risky. The board’s adopted safeguards aim to limit those risks and to give the county greater ability to revoke licenses if public harms occur while the pilot is in effect.