Fresno Mayor Lee Brand informed the Fresno City Council Monday that he was vetoing its ordinance allowing medicinal and recreational marijuana to be sold legally within city limits.

“While I believe that legal adult use sales of cannabis in the City of Fresno are inevitable, I also believe we have a duty to be transparent and open in how that legislation is brought to constituents.” Brand said in a memo to the council.

Brand said in the memo that the city council has to rethink the idea and details on what should be done to maintain transparency in security, policing and social equity. Some of his requests include approving adult use sales in the city by a council super majority, requiring dispensary operators to keep video surveillance recordings for 90 days instead of a week, giving the Fresno Police Department more say in security language and more clarity when it comes to social equity measures and organized labor.

District 3 City Council Member Miguel Arias said he was going to meet with Brand Tuesday morning to clarify any possible misunderstandings in the technical language, which he said could be due to Police Chief Andy Hall replacing former police chief Jerry Dyer and some miscommunication on aspects of security.

“The original ordinance that the council passed in December 2018, which the mayor did not veto, said that cannabis both medical and recreational would be legalized and regulated in Fresno,” Arias said. “Beginning the second year after the ordinance was passed, recreational cannabis would be allowed. December 10 of this year, recreational marijuana, was automatically allowed. Brand is a year too late to veto.”

Arias said that Brand doesn’t have a problem with the legalization of recreational cannabis, but the details of the rules for regulation.

Environmental reports and studies are slated to be completed in the next six months, and Arias said that there is plenty of time to resolve any differences between the mayor’s office and city council.