Sacramento charged landlord $137K after his tenant grew pot. Now city to pay settlement
.JPG "A man takes a picture of one the cannabis plants on display at the first Cannabis Awards and Exhibit at the California State Fair during media day on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.")
The city of Sacramento paid nearly $700,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed it charged exorbitant fines to predominantly Asian landlords whose tenants grew marijuana in their homes.
The settlement agreement, which the city signed in August, includes $650,000 in attorney’s fees, $35,000 to repay fines the property owner had paid, and roughly $10,000 in additional compensation.
The city charged Zuhu Wang with $137,000 in fines for illegal cannabis cultivation in his south Sacramento rental home, Capitol Public Radio reported in 2019. The city charged property owners $94 million for illegal cannabis cultivation in two years, the station found, ranging from $100,000 to over $1 million per person.
Wang’s lawsuit alleged police used Sacramento Municipal Utility District data to find houses that used electricity in a way that would suggest marijuana cultivation.
It alleged police then visited the homes, and issued 80% to 90% of its penalties to Asian homeowners, even though Asians represent only about 18% of Sacramento residents.
Sacramento allows residents to have up to six pot plants. People who have more than that can be fined up to $500 per plant — a policy that’s still in place.
“Sacramento may have had good intentions, but its ordinance and enforcement have veered far from the guardrails imposed by law,” read the lawsuit, filed in September 2019 in Sacramento Superior Court. “Sacramento’s ordinance is unlawful. The way Sacramento Police enforces the unlawful ordinance is unlawful. The hearings that Sacramento gives owners who try to contest the wild penalty amounts are an outright abuse of power and a violation of the public trust. If Sacramento wants homeowners to respect rules, Sacramento must also respect the rules.”
The city declined to comment on the individual settlement, but provided a comment that referred to a group of recent settlements.
“In regard to these cases, the City of Sacramento determined it was appropriate to work with the plaintiffs to reach fair and reasonable agreements that resolved the issues and satisfied the involved parties,” city spokesman Tim Swanson said in an email.
As a result of the lawsuit, the city made several changes to its process by which people can get hearings to appeal the fines, the settlement said.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 5:25 AM.
