A. There is hereby imposed on every Cannabis Business engaged in Commercial Cannabis Cultivation in the City an annual tax in an amount established from time to time by ordinance or resolution of the City Council. The tax for all Commercial Cannabis Cultivation businesses shall be in the range of $5.00 to $25.00 per square foot of Canopy, or fraction thereof. These maximum square foot tax rates shall be adjusted annually (and rounded up to the nearest cent) each January 1st based on the year-over-year percentage change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics San Diego Metropolitan Area Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) October to October comparison, or if such index is discontinued, a comparable or successor consumer price index designated by the City Council. The tax imposed by this section shall be due and payable in installments as provided in CVMC 5.21.120.

B. Every Commercial Cannabis Cultivation business shall pay: (a) the Cultivation tax imposed by this section, instead of the tax imposed by CVMC 5.21.050, on its Cultivation activity and (b) the tax imposed by CVMC 5.21.050 on any and all of its other Cannabis Business activities. The activity of Cannabis Nurseries as defined in CVMC 5.21.040 is subject to the tax imposed by CVMC 5.21.050 rather than the tax imposed by this section.

C. The City Council may, by resolution, in its discretion, implement a tax rate lower than the maximum rate set forth in subsection (A) of this section for all businesses engaged in Commercial Cannabis Cultivation in the City or establish differing tax rates for different categories of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation, including, without limitation, medical versus Adult Use. The City Council may, by resolution, also decrease or increase any such tax rate from time to time; provided, that the tax rate shall not, at any time, be below the minimum, or above the maximum, rates established in subsection (A) of this section.

D. Cannabis Businesses engaged in Cultivation and subject to the tax imposed by subsections (A) and (B) of this section and liable for the tax imposed by this chapter shall also register and pay the registration fee described in CVMC 5.21.070, and shall comply with Chapter 5.19 CVMC, except that they shall be exempt from paying the general business tax imposed by Chapter 5.04 CVMC. Any Cannabis Business engaged in Cultivation not subject to the tax imposed by subsections (A) and (B) of this section is subject to the general business tax imposed by Chapter 5.04 CVMC, except as otherwise provided by this Code, including CVMC 5.21.050 or other applicable law. (Ord. 3434 § 1, 2018).