Board creates commission to redraw district lines

UKIAH >> During the July 19 meeting, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to appoint a citizen commission for redistricting the county.

After every census, Mendocino County redraws its district lines to reflect the population changes. However, due to COVID-19, the census deadlines were delayed. The county won’t be getting the final census information until Sept. 30, but California won’t have the prison census information for a month afterward.

Mendocino County still needs to redraw the district lines by December 15, 2021, regardless of the delay.

The Board voted to appoint a citizen redistricting commission to redraw the district lines. This citizen commission will meet at least four times before the deadline of December 15.

Members of the public are encouraged to apply for this com

mission as soon as possible.

During the July 20 meeting, the board approved a motion to amend the County of Mendocino Cannabis Equity Program.

Mendocino County was awarded 2.2 million by Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions, and the board additionally allocated $100,000 matching grant dollars. The Board of Supervisors created the Cannabis Equity Program in October 2020. It was created to assist those disproportionately affected by the war on drugs by lowering barriers for cannabis permitting and licensing.

Previously, the income limits for the program were very low, and few applicants were eligible as a result. The application process is also complicated, and the max grant was $10,000. Because of these tough requirements, the county has a lot of excess funds left over. Mendocino County must disperse the funds before February 2022, or it will have to return the money.

The board voted to increase the income limits to “median” levels, thus allowing for a larger pool of applicants.

Those who have applied but were previously ineligible due to income levels still have their applications on file. Applicants who are now eligible will be notified by the county as soon as possible.

The grant process will also be simplified by the contracted grant administrator, making it easier to apply for the grant.

The grants will also be larger, with a new maximum of $50,000. These payments will be split into two 25,000 disbursements.

This amendment will go into effect as soon as possible. Interested applicants can apply at mendocinocounty.org/ government/planningbuilding-services/cannabis-cultivation/cannabisequity-grant.