Desert Hot Springs, a city that has been down on its luck financial for basically ever, is experience a boom thanks to the city’s approval of marijuana grows.
In a story released on Tuesday, The L.A. Times, profiles the city and the “marijuana boom” it has seen since legalizing weed grows and dispensaries:
As the first city in Southern California to legalize large-scale medical marijuana cultivation, Desert Hot Springs has been inundated by marijuana growers and developers. They are buying up dusty desert land — some with no utilities or roads — in hopes of cashing in as California’s marijuana growers come into the open under new state regulations.
“It’s pretty chaotic,” said Coachella Valley real estate broker Marc Robinson. “I’m getting tons of calls from all over the world, all over the United States. My newest clients flew over from Germany.”
One man told the newspaper he made five times what he paid for 5 acres of barren land just 6 months earlier and, naturally, DHS’s mayor said he is stoked about all the new income slated to come in.
“I can only imagine what we can do with the tax revenue,” Mayor Scott Matas said. “We’re in need of parks, our roads are dilapidated. All around — our sidewalks, curbs, gutters.”
The city voted to legalize cultivation and dispensaries in 2014, after declaring a fiscal emergency. Since the ordinance passed, 11 businesses have been approved for cultivation in the city – with 8 more in the approval process.
Growers will be taxed $25 per square foot of cultivation space for the first 3,000 square feet and $10 per square foot after that.
You can read the entire L.A. Times article (worth your time) here.
