by Dan Blackburn

A citizens committee has been named to advise Hermosa Beach city officials about a pending attempt to legalize retail sales of cannabis in the city. Though legal in California, retail cannabis sales have been prohibited in the city since 2017.

The committee members are: business representative Dave Davis, Board Chair, Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce; health representative Tom Bakaly, CEO, Beach Cities Health District; school district representative Jason Johnson, superintendent of Hermosa Beach City School District; and community representatives Andrea Valcourt, Cammie Herbert, Heidi Swan, Matt Cottrell, Nathan Tribble, and Russ Gilbert.

One potential action of the committee would be to assist in drafting an ordinance to compete with the voter initiative funded by the Economic Development Reform Coalition of Southern California (EDRCSC). The group began gathering signatures last December in hopes of qualifying their measure for the November ballot that would allow a maximum of two cannabis retailers in the city. The group has already qualified a similar ballot measure in Redondo Beach, and is gathering signatures for a similar measure in Manhattan Beach.

EDRCSC has until June 18 to submit sufficient signatures –  10 percent of the city’s 15,303 electors – to qualify for the ballot. ER