At tonight’s Monday, May 24 meeting, following a long discussion, the Bishop City Council approved, with some clarifications and modifications, an ordinance allowing commercial cannabis businesses within its city limits. The vote was 4-1 with Karen Kong the hold-out.

During the election, both Kong and Jose Garcia were not supportive of commercial operations. However, during the discussion Garcia’s was position was one of listening to the constituents. “I’m not in favor of consumption,” he said, “but I am in favor of the city being able to control” the operations.

Kong’s primary objection focused on “what we want the City to represent,” noting other legal commercial operations Bishop may not want in its relatively small downtown core.

[For a closer, more detailed look at what is in the ordinance, please visit our website at Sierrawave.net for Deb Murphy’s earlier story, Commercial Cannabis Ordinance on Monday’s Bishop City Council Agenda, posted on May 21, 2021.]

*Sierra Wave will have more detail on the tweaks recommended to the ordinance in the near future.

*5/25/2021 Update–Modifications made to Bishop City Council Ordinance on Commercial Cannabis Operations: Sierra Wave reporter Deb Murphy got back to the news office today, Tuesday, May 25, to let us know, so we can let you know, that the only modifications made to the ordinance as written to the ordinance on Monday evening at the Bishop City Council Meeting included only people 21 or older are allowed in the shops, signage is required explaining the health effects and specifying loitering and there will be no limit on the space that can be used to sell other products.