Desert Hot Springs, a city directly to the south of the Morongo Basin, is one of the most competitive locations in California for cannabis businesses. It was the first city in Southern California to legalize large-scale cannabis cultivation when more than 70% of residents approved the decision in 2014. The Desert Hot Springs City Council reduced a portion of the city’s cannabis cultivation tax, with the reduced tax rate becoming effective July 1. Managing editor Tami Roleff reports on the effect of the legal cannabis cultivation industry on the city…
When cannabis cultivation was legalized in California; Desert Hot Springs, a city directly to the south of the Morongo Basin, became very cannabis friendly and allowed the businesses in the city limits. The city taxed cultivation centers at $25.50 per square foot for buildings 3,000 square feet or smaller, and $10 a square foot for every square foot thereafter. As of July 1, all cultivators will be charged a flat $10 per square foot rate. The city estimates that by 2025, the cannabis cultivation tax will generate between $5 and $6 million in revenue. Desert Hot Spring’s cannabis businesses currently employ 1,796 people, 537 of whom are residents of Desert Hot Springs.
The council members of the Town of Yucca Valley and City of Twentynine Palms have refused to permit cannabis cultivation centers in the town and city limits.
