LAKEPORT >> The Lake County Planning Commission held its first public workshop on the drafted marijuana ordinance at its regular meeting on Thursday, receiving input from numerous residents about associated land use regulations.
Led by Community Development Director Bob Massarelli, the discussion focused on three areas: language for the general plan, grandfather provisions for medical users/collectives, and the department’s drafted exclusionary boundary maps. While the conversation was civil, the public made their own recommendations and criticized some aspects of the proposals.
Most of the critiques were related to the various maps that show where growing may be prohibited — community growth boundaries, water districts, prime agricultural soils, etc. — as commenters felt they might be too spread out and restrictive. In fact, the audience gave out a sarcastic laugh when a map showing where growing might occur was released.
“It’s broadly exclusionary,” one farmer said, noting that the prohibition on prime agricultural soils is flawed because quality can be found in different places on someone’s land. “I also live on a bunch of rocks and I guarantee you it is not prime soil.”
Land planning consultant Richard Knoll also chimed in on the matter, saying the restriction on Class I to IV soils is a contradiction to Measure N, or Article 72, which was passed by the voters in 2014.
“It seems like we’re going 180 degrees since two years ago,” he added.
Others, like Victoria Brandon of Lake County’s chapter of the Sierra Club, felt the maps made growing scattered and therefore harder to enforce.
Massarelli agreed, especially regarding the areas in the northern end of the county like Lake Pillsbury.
“I guarantee you these will change,” he said, warning people to not make investment decisions based on the current maps. “There might be some cutoff point in the north.”
Further debate occurred when the discussion of the grandfather provision aspect because property owners of collectives — where personal medical marijuana is grown for multiple patients — were worried they could not transfer over to commercial operations.
The issue stems from Massarelli’s proposal to keep the grandfathered collectives in the “A” or agriculturally zoned district. If the prohibitions on soils were to be passed, many wouldn’t be allowed to have their own enterprise even though they have been growing for a large group of people.
Fortunately for those with concerns, no decisions were made and won’t be until the board passes the ordinance in December.
Meanwhile, the community development director will take the input (along with three future meetings) and also look at what counties like Calaveras did to simplify the land use issues.
“We’re trying as little as possible to reinvent the wheel,” Massarelli said.
The next workshop is scheduled for Oct. 13.
