Petaluma Measure F Among Sonoma County Nov. 7 Ballot Items

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A parcel tax for school improvements, a tax on marijuana businesses and the extension of an urban growth boundary are on the Sonoma County ballot Nov. 7.

Measure F is a $65 annual parcel tax for eight years in the Wilmar Union School District in Petaluma. The $70,890 annual revenue from the tax will go toward music, arts, counseling services and technology at the K-6 Wilson School at 3775 Bodega Ave. in Petaluma.

Money from a previous parcel tax in the district expired. The Measure F tax will begin on July 1, 2018 if it receives two-thirds approval. Measure F contains an exemption from the tax for property owners 65 and older and its revenue will not be spent on administrators' salaries.

Cotati voters will consider Measure G, a tax on marijuana cultivation businesses up to $25 per square foot of cultivation area, adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index or eight percent of gross receipts, and up to eight percent of gross receipts on cannabis manufacturing, distribution and dispensary businesses.

The revenue will be used to maintain city services and address cannabis industry impacts. The tax will provide approximately $300,000 a year. The money would go in Cotati's general fund budget and can be used for any city purpose. The tax does not apply to the use or cultivation of cannabis for personal use as authorized by state law.

Measure G requires approval of a majority of voters. It already has the approval of the Cotati Mayor and City Council.

In Windsor, residents will vote to extend the town's urban growth boundary to Dec. 31, 2040. Measure H will add three parcels totaling 22.5 light-industrial acres in the Shiloh Road area for the anticipated expansion of Santa Rosa Junior College's Public Safety Training Campus and two other existing businesses.

Mayor Debora Fudge said there have been no annexations of land within the urban growth boundary since 1997. Growth in Windsor primarily has been in the downtown area, Fudge said.

Under Measure H, the policies and procedures of the urban growth boundary can only be amended by voters, not the Town Council. If Measure H fails to get majority approval, the policies and procedures of the urban growth boundary could be amended by a majority vote of the Town Council without a vote by Windsor residents.

By Bay City News Service

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