The study prepared for Napa County stated 100,000 gallons of water per acre outdoor.
The County is set to allow up to 65,000 acres of cannabis to be grown in Sonoma County with a check list for easy approval by Permit Sonoma and the Ag Commissioner. We already have a bloated wine industry with the same acreage being cultivated. Where is the water coming from? The cannabis industry wants the same special privilege’s that the wine industry wants. They want to hold to hold events and increase tourism using old traffic studies. Time to send a note to our supervisor and Permit Sonoma.
EDITOR: Sonoma County supervisors will be voting on the cannabis ordinance soon, and they are considering removal of the current cannabis-tourism prohibition. Please write your supervisor and demand that the county retain and actually enforce the ban on cannabis on-site hospitality activities. Request that the county uphold Ordinance No. 6245, Section 26-88-250 (c) (5), which states: “Tasting, promotional activities, and events related to commercial cannabis activities are prohibited.”
EMAIL: You may submit comments via email to Cannabis@sonoma-county.org with Preliminary Draft Comments in the subject line.
district4@sonoma-county.org, David.Rabbitt@sonoma-county.org, district5@sonoma-county.org, Susan.Gorin@sonoma-county.org, chris.coursey@sonoma-county.org Tennis.Wick@sonoma-county.org
https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Cannabis-Program/
The just released preliminary draft of the cannabis Phase 2 amendments envisions a 65,000-acre maximum potential for cannabis grows. In comparison there are about 60,000 acres of vineyards in the County. (Probably many more acres but as the ag department is closing into 2 years past due for their annual crop report so we don’t know, we just see that hundreds or thousands of acres more have been planted since 2019 in more and more marginal lands).
Also copied below is page 20 and 17 from the Preliminary Draft.
From the Preliminary SMND
Page 20: The updated Ordinance would allow for an increase in the acreage of cultivation within scenic vistas that are located outside the coastal zone. Whereas the current Ordinance restricts the total area of outdoor, mixed-light, and indoor cultivation in agricultural and resource zoning districts to no more than one acre per parcel, the updated Ordinance would instead limit cultivation by percent of parcel coverage. Plant canopy cover for outdoor cannabis cultivation and hoop houses would be limited to 10 percent of a parcel. In addition, new cannabis structures on parcels greater than 20 acres in size would be restricted to 50 percent of the maximum lot coverage prescribed for the base zone.
These new provisions would allow for more than one acre of cannabis cultivation on parcels at least 10 acres in size. As explained in Section 2, Agriculture and Forest Resources, the updated Ordinance could allow a potential maximum of up to 65,753 acres of future commercial cannabis cultivation in unincorporated Sonoma County if all land covered under the updated Ordinance was converted to cannabis cultivation operations. This would be the potential maximum buildout and it is extremely unlikely that all available land would be put into cannabis cultivation. The updated Ordinance also would allow for an increase in the number and size of greenhouses, indoor cultivation structures, and other supporting structures, as well as more fencing to protect these structures. As a result, the updated Ordinance could lead to an expansion of cannabis cultivation and associated structures on parcels within scenic vistas.
Page 17:Currently approximately 709,124 acres of the County are zoned for Agricultural uses. The updated Ordinance would affect a portion of County lands zoned for Agricultural uses. The existing Ordinance requires a 10-acre minimum parcel size for commercial cannabis operations and caps the cultivation area permitted on each parcel at one acre. Approximately 657,534 acres are both zoned for Agricultural uses and located on parcels above 10 acres in size. This estimate of the acreage affected by the updated Ordinance is conservative and does not account for several factors that would further limit cannabis cultivation, such as the County prohibition on cultivation where slopes exceed 15 percent, required setbacks from neighboring uses, and riparian corridor setbacks.
EDITOR: Sonoma County supervisors will be voting on the cannabis ordinance soon, and they are considering removal of the current cannabis-tourism prohibition. Please write your supervisor and demand that the county retain and actually enforce the ban on cannabis on-site hospitality activities. Request that the county uphold Ordinance No. 6245, Section 26-88-250 (c) (5), which states: “Tasting, promotional activities, and events related to commercial cannabis activities are prohibited.”
Before further endangering public safety by adding more inebriated drivers to our rural byways, Sonoma County officials need to address current tourist-related traffic problems, including the county’s higher than average accident rate and DUI- related fatality rate.
Sonoma County’s traffic analyses, released in November 2019, concluded that future travel conditions will worsen. And as more roads operate below acceptable levels, safety hazards and accident rates will increase. The reports also found significantly higher peak-season accident rates — especially from 1 p.m-6 p.m. on weekends — indicators that tourists’ autos and bicycles play a role in increased accident rates.
The safety of rural residents and tourists has been jeopardized by unregulated alcohol tourism. Let’s not make the same mistakes and expect a different outcome with the cannabis industry.
J.O., Healdsburg