The following is a press release issued by the Cannabis Business Association of Mendocino County:
In advance of the upcoming Planning Commission hearing, Monday’s virtual town hall meeting will feature policy makers and cannabis industry experts discussing the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors’ proposed Phase Three commercial cannabis cultivation ordinance.
The panelists include John McCowen, Former 2nd District Supervisor who championed the development the Phase 3 Ordinance, 5th District Supervisor & Cannabis Ad Hoc Committee Member Ted Williams, newly hired Cannabis Program Manager Kristin Nevedal, attorney Joe Rogoway of Rogoway Law Group, and Patrick Sellers, Board Chair of Mendocino Cannabis Alliance.
Hosted by the Cannabis Business Association of Mendocino County and moderated by Kate Maxwell, Publisher of the Mendocino Voice, the goal of the event titled, “Understanding the Proposed Phase 3 Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance,” is to provide a public venue for education and community dialogue.
The event will be hosted online Monday, March 15th 4:00-5:15 pm. Join via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/93174973092, Passcode: phase3 or watch live on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MendoVoice. The program will include a public Q&A. Email your questions in advance to: publisher@mendovoice.com
The proposed Phase 3 ordinance is a significant departure from the County’s current cannabis program, introducing a discretionary land use model that will require the issuance of use permits & state licenses before any commercial activity can commence. While the Phase 1 permitting program has been plagued by problems with state level CEQA compliance and cumbersome local policy redundancies, the Phase 3 ordinance aligns with State Law to create a clear path forward for operators in good standing to obtain Annual Licenses.
The Phase 3 model will require site-specific Planning Department review of all proposed projects and in many zones mandates a Major Use hearing by the Planning Commission. All projects will be subject to neighborhood input and appeal to ensure that operations are compatible with the neighboring community.
The ordinance contains several critical provisions which will determine the future of the local regulated industry including opening the permitting program to new operators, moving commercial cannabis out of neighborhoods into agriculturally appropriate zones, requiring that all sites have sufficient water available, restricting the use of water trucks, and limiting scale to 10% of parcel size, similar to the approach taken by Lake & Sonoma Counties.
When the Board of Supervisors directed staff to send the Phase 3 policy to the Planning Commission on January 25, 2021, they sought to address the chronic problems with the Phase 1 program by amending the Phase 3 Ordinance to allow for the “grandfathering” in of Phase 1 applicants to the Zoning Table. This means that Phase 1 applicants who are unable to obtain licenses via Phase 1 will be eligible to apply for a Major Use Permit in Phase 3, regardless of their parcel size or zoning, with the intention of bringing as many operators as possible into regulatory compliance.
The Phase 3 Planning Commission hearing on Friday, March 19th will follow consideration of related proposed updates to the Cannabis Facilities Ordinance, which regulates all non-cultivation cannabis business license types including Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution, Retail, and Lab Testing. The proposed changes would enable industry growth and diversification by regulating a suite of cannabis agritourism activities including on-farm retail, on-site consumption, cannabis tours, cannabis lodging, special events and farmers markets.
For More Info:
To read the full draft ordinance and view the Planning Commission agenda, visit: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/planning-building-services/meeting-agendas/planning-commission
About Cannabis Business Association Mendocino County
The Cannabis Business Association of Mendocino County (CBAMC) is a professional industry organization that represents the collective interests of our member businesses and farms. We are committed to the normalization of cannabis as an agricultural industry and building a thriving, diversified local economy. For more information: www.cbamendocino.org
