Planning Commission hears from public on cannabis,
Majority of letter writers oppose Phase Three provisions
UKIAH >> March 19, the Mendocino County Planning Commission reviewed Phase Three Commercial Cannabis Activity Ordinance and, after receiving 407 letters (98 percent of which were against the provisions of the ordinance), the commissioners did not oppose the discretionary use permit system, leaving permitting to the discretion of the Planning Department; did not object to passing the proposed ordinance without environmental review, did not oppose the opening of rangelands to new cultivation permits and did not fully oppose the 10 percent provision.
The commissioners did support the expansion of cultivation site sizes and allowed for the possibility of farm tours, sales, consumption and events at every cultivation site.
Although there were some duplicate letters and a handful of letters in support including Flow Kana, Cannacraft, Leaf Holdings and Henry’s Original, the overwhelming majority, including the following, opposed the new ordinance: The Mendocino County Farm Bureau, the Sierra Club, former Sheriff Tom Allman, Sheriff Matt Kendall, Ukiah Daily Journal Editor KC Meadows, Mendocino Observer Editor Jim Shields, the Round Valley County Water District, the Covelo Community Services District, the Willits Environmental Center, the Covelo Cannabis Advocacy Group, the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance and the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council.
Following are excerpts from some of the letters; all of the letters are available for reading on the Mendocino County Planning Commission’s website:
Greenfire Law, legal counsel to the Willits Environmental Center, states that “requiring a separate CEQA review for each new site, as well as for all Phase One applicants, will create an impossible burden for small commercial applicants as well as overworked staff and under-resourced regulators and law enforcement. Gridlock is ensured.”
“(This)opens up the county to massive corporate growers with deep pockets, to the detriment of smaller growers who do not have the resources.”
Sheila Jenkins, a land owner in Willits, states that “with good planning we can protect the beauty of our lands, our wildlife and water resources and tourist industry. Much of the degradation to our environment, our sense of community and our safety has occurred because of the cannabis industry and this proposal does not offer meaningful solutions for correcting these damaging impacts.”
Ellen Drell states “the board is rushing this proposal forward so that they can take advantage of a regulation that allows the county to pass the CCAO without an environmental review (CEQA). The board is proposing changing our hard-won ordinance with a use permit process that will leave all the decisions to the discretion of the Planning Department staff.”
“This will eliminate the following protections in our existing ordinance: A prohibition on new operations on the County’s Rangeland Zone; a cap on the size of the grow sites of 10,000 sq ft per permit; a two permitsper-parcel limitation; protections against tree removal; a generator phase-out timeline; and protections against light pollution.”
The Board of Directors of Covelo Community Services District are opposed to the proposed expansion of cannabis cultivation with the 10 percent provision due to multifold concerns for public, water and land health.
“Their community is plagued with unprecedented criminal activity notably related to the proliferation of cannabis cultivation and to allow increased cultivation further jeopardizes the health and safety of the valley’s residents. The sheriff’s department is currently unable to effectively maintain the safety needs of the valley and an additional burden on them is simply unconscionable.”
Round Valley County Water District’s letter states that the 10 percent provision could deplete the aquifer and result in wells for existing users going dry.
“The last few years in Round Valley has seen a dramatic increase in cannabis cultivation and the water requirements are supported by an immense unregulated well water pumping and delivery businesses, the significant impacts of which have been neither monitored nor ameliorated.”
Marc Komer, chairman of the board of directors of the Shafer Ranch Road Association in southwest Willits, states that the parcel where he lives is surrounded by cannabis farmers who, in mid-summer, import water in trucks weighing 250,000, breaking down and degrading the roads that pot farmers do not pay to repair.
Jim Shields, editor of the Mendocino Observer, writes in his most recent UDJ column that. “the 10 percent rule and rangeland to pot land proposal must be withdrawn because they are lousy public policy. Remember, the only goal of public policy is to accomplish the most good for the most people. Their public policy is the antithesis of that objective.”
Former Sheriff Tom Allman said he strongly objects to rangeland becoming “weedland” saying, “the balance of power is being swayed by corporate greed.”
Sheriff Kendall states “we are seeing terrible crime and atrocities committed against persons and the environment within our communities — on a daily basis.”
“We will not be successful without more enforcement and oversight; presently we have one enforcement officer in Covelo and he is unable to cut down all the illegal grows.”