Jun. 22—GALT — The City of Galt will be hosting two town hall meetings next week to discuss the possibility of lifting a ban on cannabis and allowing a related business to open up shop in the future.

The town hall meetings come after the Galt City Council on Tuesday directed staff to move forward with a cannabis community engagement plan, as well as after reviewing results from a survey conducted by FM3, an independent consultant firm.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 25 and March 2 via telephone, email or text, and 361 registered voters were contacted.

Of those, FM3 said 347 would be likely to vote on a cannabis-related tax measure in the 2024 election.

Survey results indicated that 58% of respondents supported lifting the city's cannabis ban, while 36% opposed it.

If a cannabis business were to open in Galt, 51% of respondents supported a maximum of two within the city limits, and 65% supported the requirement they be located at least 600 feet from any school.

In addition, 64% of respondents supported requiring on-site security guards, and 73% supported limiting business hours to 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

When it came to what type of cannabis business should be allowed in Galt, 63% of respondents supported a delivery service to those older than 21, and 63% supported retail cannabis sales.

Some 60% said they would support a cannabis tax measure next year, and 69% supported a 10% gross receipts tax on businesses.

Residents who spoke during the meeting Tuesday opposed the idea of allowing cannabis within the city limits.

Peter Bellville said the city was pondering the the idea of "pandering to potheads," and questioned why staff would promote the sale of something containing chemicals that were detrimental to the well-being of Galtonians.

"The sole motivation for this is that a cannabis store would bring revenue to the city," he said. "That's a poor exchange for a detrimental chemical to be licensed in our city."

Melissa Neuburger, a program manager with the Sacramento County Office of Education, said FM3's survey was flawed, as only 361 people out of some 26,000 that reside in Galt represented just 1% of the population.

She said the results were unfair, and questioned why the ages and demographics of those contacted were not disclosed.

"A lot of the data you see here isn't representative of what Galt may think or feel," Neuburger said. "If you look at that and say 50% support it, that's 180 people. That's not a whole lot of people."

Galt City Manager Lorenzo Hines said FM3 conducted a similar survey using the same methodology to research support for Measure Q, the 2022 general sales tax measure to support essential services.

The measure passed with 56.28% of the ballots cast.

"Those results were pretty spot on as far as final results when we looked at who voted and how many folks voted," Hines said. "While we have 26,000 folks in the city, not all of those folks are registered voters. This survey focused on registered voters and voters likely to cast votes in 2024."

Mayor Jay Vandenburg asked staff to return to a future meeting with long-term results from cities that have allowed cannabis in their jurisdictions.

"If staff can help us out with that to make a decision, I would love to hear that," he said. "This council is very flexible in what it can do. We don't have to put this on a ballot as far as two-thirds, specifics. We can regulate age use, what type of business, where it's located, what type of security."

Councilman Shawn Farmer said the city is not going to make its final decision based on poll data from one survey, adding staff has been told that no stone should be left unturned when it comes to research.

"If I'm fairly representing the people of this town, I fairly represent people that want something, as well as people that don't want something," he said. "I think it's my duty to hear all the voices and consider all the voices, not because I feel a certain way or I want something or I don't want something. I try to do what the people of this town want."

Next week's town hall meetings will be held June 27 and 29 at the Galt Police Department Community Room, 455 Industrial Drive, in Galt.

More information will be posted on www.cityofgalt.org.