TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Supervisor Williams and Supervisor McGourty
MEETING DATE: March 14, 2023
DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
Ted Williams
PHONE:
707-937-3500
DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
Glenn McGourty
PHONE:
707-391-3003
ITEM TYPE: Regular Agenda
TIME ALLOCATED FOR ITEM: 45 Minutes
AGENDA TITLE:
title
Discussion and Possible Action Including Direction to Staff to Prepare Environmental Document and Ordinance to Remove or Streamline the Requirement for Issuance of Local Permit for Cannabis Cultivation While Retaining All Substantive Legal Restrictions and Environmental Protection Measures for State Licensed Operators
(Sponsors: Supervisor Williams and Supervisor McGourty)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION/MOTION:
recommendation
Direct staff to prepare environmental document and ordinance to remove or streamline the requirement for issuance of local permit for cannabis cultivation while retaining all substantive legal restrictions and environmental protection measures for state licensed operators.
End
PREVIOUS BOARD/BOARD COMMITTEE ACTIONS:
Numerous.
SUMMARY OF REQUEST:
Mendocino County adopted a Cannabis Cultivation ordinance (10A-17) prior to the state completing its program licensing requirements. The County program is duplicative and poorly aligned with the requirements of the state program. The state proposed "Appendix G" to bridge the county's ministerial permit approach with the site-specific discretionary review required by the state license. While it's possible for the Mendocino Cannabis Department to create Appendix G for applicants, it's a huge undertaking, even with state grants. Given the uncertainty of the expense of and fund availability for this task, The Board should decide whether a simplified approach would better protect public money, bolster code enforcement and safeguard cultivation applicants by removing the bottleneck of the county permitting program. Under this proposal, our present permitting process would be suspended. The ...
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