Alarming cannabis proposal

EDITOR: Dear Friends and Neighbors, On March 19 at 9 a.m., there will be a Special Meeting of the Planning Commission to discuss and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on a proposed new cannabis cultivation ordinance: the “Commercial Cannabis Activity Land Use Ordinance.”

The BOS is rushing this proposal forward to take advantage of a regulation that allows the County to pass a Cannabis Ordinance without environmental review until July 1.

The BOS are proposing replacing our hard-won ordinance with a use permit process. This will leave all of the decisions of where, how much, and under what conditions to the discretion of Planning Department staff while eliminating these protections:

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 2 permits per parcel limitation Protections against tree removal A generator phase out timeline Protections against light pollution.

Also of concern is the opening up of our Rangelands to development, and allow up to 10 percent of a parcel 10 acres or more in the Ag, Upland Residential, and Rangeland zones to be converted to cannabis.

The Farm Bureau, the small grower, our Sheriff, the environmental community and the majority of citizens do not support this.

The County does not have the budget, the staff, or the track record to invite a big expansion of cannabis at this time. Please let the Planning Commission and the Supervisors know now! Reference item 6B in your letters: pbs.mendocinocounty.org —Ellen Drell, Willits Environmental Center and Sheila Jenkins, County Resident

Please cc your letter to Sheila at: glazegoddess@gmail.com so we can stay in touch on this issue.