To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Counsel and Planning and Building Services
Meeting Date: October 17, 2023
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Department Contact: |
Christian Curtis |
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707-234-6885 |
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Department Contact: |
Matthew Kiedrowski |
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707-234-6885 |
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Department Contact: |
Julia Krog |
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707-234-6650 |
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Item Type: Regular Agenda |
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Time Allocated for Item: 1.5 Hours |
Agenda Title:
title
Discussion and Possible Action Including Introduction and Waive First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapters 20.118 and 20.119 of the Mendocino County Code to Amend the Procedures to Establish or Modify Cannabis Accommodation and Commercial Cannabis Prohibition Districts and Eliminate the Listing of Individual Districts
(Sponsors: County Counsel and Planning and Building Services)
End
Recommended Action/Motion:
recommendation
Introduce and waive first reading of an ordinance amending Chapters 20.118 and 20.119 of the Mendocino County Code to amend the procedures to establish or modify Cannabis Accommodation and Commercial Cannabis Prohibition districts and eliminate the listing of individual districts; and authorize Chair to sign same.
End
Previous Board/Board Committee Actions:
By Ordinance No. 4420, adopted on December 4, 2018, the Board of Supervisors adopted Chapters 20.118 and 20.119 establishing procedures for the creation of Cannabis Accommodation (CA) and Commercial Cannabis Prohibition (CP) Districts, and adopted several districts. Multiple applications for the creation of additional such districts have been made since 2018.
Summary of Request:
Chapters 20.118 and 20.119 use similar procedures for how a district may be formed. In particular, one or more property owners within the boundaries of a proposed district may apply for the formation of the district, and must show a petition or some other documentation of support from at least sixty percent (60%) of the district landowners.
The procedures for CA and CP Districts are different than the normal process for initiating a rezoning of property. Pursuant to Mendocino County Code section 20.212.015, rezone applications may generally be filed by (A) a petition of one or more property owners (signed by all of such property owners) affected by the proposed amendment, (B) a minute order of the Board of Supervisors, or (C) a minute order of the Planning Commission.
The deviation from this standard for CA and CP Districts has caused confusion and controversy since its inception. The process of collecting signatures in support of a proposed district invites conflict within a neighborhood, allows for possible coercion in obtaining signatures and has resulted in hyper-specific inquiries as to the legitimacy of signatures. In allowing for a neighborhood-level rezoning to be applied for, the process has at times been confused for that of a project being shepherded to fruition as opposed to a legislative act under the Board’s police power.
County Counsel’s Office and the Department of Planning and Building Services (PBS) are recommending several changes to Chapters 20.118 and 20.119. The primary recommendation is to eliminate the ability for a person to apply to establish, amend or repeal either CA or CP districts. Given that these districts are intended to be at a neighborhood scale, staff believes it is appropriate to reserve to either the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors the ability to initiate a process to create or amend a CA or CP district. Property owners may still desire to form a CA or CP district but would need to speak with a member of the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors to gain support for the concept, which would then need to be agenized at a meeting of the respective body in order for the full body to provide direction to PBS staff.
As a result of this change, other portions of the two chapters are recommended for amendment. Both chapters presently contain a 10-year period following the adoption of a CA or CP District where no applications to amend or repeal a district can be initiated by a property owner. Since the amendment proposes eliminating the ability for a property owner to initiate any changes related to a CA or CP District, the 10-year period is no longer relevant and can also be eliminated. Both Chapters also have provisions specific to the addition of property to a CA or CP District. This language is also proposed to be eliminated since any changes to a CA or CP District would be considered an amendment to the District and would need to be initiated by the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors.
Both Chapters have sections calling for the payment of fees for applications to establish, repeal or amend a District. In eliminating the ability for a property owner to apply for any action to establish, repeal or amend either type of District, these sections may also be deleted.
Lastly, the final section of both Chapters was intended to be a listing of all adopted districts. These sections have not been updated following past adoptions of certain districts, and instead of updating staff recommends simply deleting these sections so as to not need to maintain them in the future.
This proposed ordinance is being brought directly to the Board of Supervisors as it is deals with procedural and not substantive aspects of the Chapters. Government Code section 65853 provides that amendments to a zoning ordinance that impose or modify certain regulations as listed in Government Code section 65850 must go to the Planning Commission, but any other amendments to a zoning ordinance may be adopted as other ordinances are adopted. Government Code section 65850 lists certain substantive issues regarding which the County may adopt regulations, such as setbacks and the use of structures. The changes proposed for Chapters 20.118 and 20.119 are purely procedural in nature, and so may be acted upon as a normal ordinance, without a public hearing but with a first and second reading.
Environmental review for Ordinance No. 4420, which added Chapters 20.118 and 20.119, was done through adoption of an addendum to the 2017 Mitigated Negative Declaration that was adopted for the County’s cannabis cultivation permit ordinance, which is available at the following link: <https://mendocino.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10555628&GUID=627F73BD-5126-4563-9020-17489E9CC767>. The proposed changes to Chapters 20.118 and 20.119 are purely procedural in nature regarding how zoning amendments may be applied for and are not a change to the project within the meaning of CEQA as they constitute an administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. Further, these changes do not trigger any of the conditions requiring subsequent CEQA review under CEQA Guidelines section 15162, in particular that these changes are not substantial changes to the project itself, and the changes do not require the preparation of an addendum. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15162, subdivision (b), no further documentation is required.
Alternative Action/Motion:
Do not introduce and waive first reading of ordinance; provide direction to staff.
Does This Item Support the General Plan? N/A
Strategic Plan Priority Designation: An Effective County Government
Supervisorial District: All
vote requirement: Majority
Supplemental Information Available Online At: <https://mendocino.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10555628&GUID=627F73BD-5126-4563-9020-17489E9CC767>
Fiscal Details:
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source of funding: N/A |
budgeted in current f/y: N/A |
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current f/y cost: N/A |
if no, please describe: |
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annual recurring cost: N/A |
revenue agreement: No |
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budget clarification: N/A |
Agreement/Resolution/Ordinance Approved by County Counsel: Yes
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CEO Liaison: Executive Office |
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CEO Review: Yes |
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CEO Comments:
FOR COB USE ONLY
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Executed By: Atlas Pearson, Senior Deputy Clerk |
Final Status: Direction Given to Staff |
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Date: October 17, 2023 |
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