Speak up for the Arcata Bottoms tonight!

I urge all Humboldt County residents to participate in tonight’s April 1 Planning Commission meeting at 6 p.m. (zoom.us/j/97637777152, password 200525; or 346-2487799, ID 976 3777 7152, password 200525) to voice your opinion on the Sun Valley proposed 23 acre cannabis grow destined for the Arcata bottom just outside the city limits. This area is not conducive to grow a plant that requires hot and dry conditions. The energy use for the lights alone will be more than 2% of the daily energy use for the entire county. Add on the fans, dehumidifiers, and heat and you’ve made a MASSIVE carbon footprint. The reports submitted to the Planning Commission re: energy usage and water usage are deeply under estimated. One plant is estimated to require 26 gallons over its lifespan. Multiply that times 1 million square feet. I am saddened that the Planning Commission and the supervisors will be so seduced by the possible tax revenue that they will decide to alter the future of Arcata’s greenbelt FOREVER by handing it over to a corporate grow, undermining the small growers, and throwing the many neighborhoods under the bus. It seems very odd that 10 people, only one of whom lives in Arcata, have the power to change Arcata’s future FOREVER. Please share your thoughts. Participate, if able, via Zoom. Write to your supervisor. Please visit savethearcatabottoms.com.

Our voices count. We should have a voice in the future of our town, its greenbelt, and its sphere of influence.

— Joan Edwards, Arcata