Sonoma County Amends Cannabis Code Enforcement Provisions
September 2, 2020
On Tuesday, September 1, 2020 the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to reduce the “permit multiplier” for cannabis-related violations (specifically for when there’s an unpermitted use or structure) from 50X down to 10X, bringing it in line with the permit multiplier for other commercial operations. This action was part of a larger set of changes that the Supervisors made to the county code as it pertains to code enforcement.
On August 11, the BOS held their first reading of proposed changes that would consolidate the county’s various code enforcement provisions, which were previously spread out throughout several chapters of the county code, into one main section with subsections for cannabis violations, residential violations, commercial violations, winery violations, and the like. During and leading up to the first reading, Lauren Mendelsohn, a Senior Associate at the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa, submitted testimony regarding how the proposed revisions to the cannabis code enforcement sections (which were not originally set to be modified from their current versions, with the exception of adding a new “per plant” penalty that the BOS ultimately voted to nix) would impact the County’s cannabis program, which has been struggling from low turnout for applications and slow turnaround time for permits.
Ms. Mendelsohn was particularly concerned with an existing provision that allowed the county to charge up to 50 times the normal fees if there are any unpermitted uses or structures on a property where cannabis cultivation is taking place (the “permit multiplier”), while the permit multiplier for similar non-cannabis commercial violations was capped at 10X. She also mentioned that there is no explicit carve-out for medical patients, who are swept up into the county’s commercial licensing category—according to the County (a point we have disagreed with them on)—if they grow more than 100 square feet of cannabis, or more than 6 plants if they do not have a physician’s recommendation.
During this meeting, a number of the Supervisors expressed a desire to treat cannabis businesses like other businesses. However, when Supervisor Gore made a motion on this item, he only motioned to strike the newly-proposed “per plant” penalty, which would have added a $1,000 daily penalty per cannabis plant for noncompliant cultivation sites, but did not take any clear action regarding the existing penalties (including the “permit multiplier”), which they had also just been discussing. This motion carried.
On August 18, 2020 the item was back on the Board of Supervisors agenda for a second reading, but it was on the consent calendar (which gets voted on as a group without discussion at the beginning of the meeting), without any changes that would help reduce the burden on cannabis operators. Ms. Mendelsohn (who is also a member of SCGA’s Advisory Council) again reached out to the Board of Supervisors to ask that they take this item off the consent calendar so it could be brought back up for discussion. She organized a coalition of local activists to write emails and submit public comments asking to take this item off the consent calendar so that additional changes could be made. These efforts were successful, and at the beginning of the August 18 meeting the Board of Supervisors informed everyone that the cannabis code enforcement item would be taken off the consent calendar and dealt with as a separate item on the regular calendar.
When the item was reached during the August 18 meeting, a number of stakeholders from the cannabis community spoke out about the need for fairness and transparency. Although cannabis is legal in California and Sonoma County, cannabis operators (and even patients and adults who grow cannabis for their own personal use) are still treated differently than other commercial operations. The 50X permit multiplier was one example of this which seemed like an easy target for amendment, since it was so out of line with other civil penalties. After hearing comments on this item and discussing it amongst themselves, the Supervisors voted to reduce the 50X cannabis permit multiplier down to 10X to match other commercial violations, and to revisit the rest of the cannabis penalties as part of a larger overhaul of the County’s cannabis regulations that is supposed to happen in the near future.
It is worth noting that during the August 18 meeting, the county’s lawyer incorrectly stated that there was a 30-plant limit for non-commercial medical cannabis grows, when the proper measurement for this under the county’s personal cultivation ordinance is actually 100 square feet (or 6 plants if the grower does not have a medical cannabis recommendation). Code enforcement staff had also been telling this inaccurate information to people who received violation notices. Ms. Mendelsohn has since addressed this with both County Counsel and the Code Enforcement Manager to inform them of the proper limits under state and local law.
On September 1, 2020 the cannabis penalty item was back on the Board of Supervisors’ consent calendar, this time with the amended permit multiplier section. The Supervisors adopted this unanimously. This was not only a victory for the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa, the Sonoma County Growers Alliance, and other local cannabis stakeholders and operators, but also a major step towards the cannabis industry being held on equal footing with other industries.
Stay tuned for further updates regarding Sonoma County’s cannabis program.
This information is provided as a public educational service and is not intended as legal advice. For more information regarding cannabis or hemp laws and regulations in California, including how to obtain a cannabis license in Sonoma County or elsewhere, please contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa at 707-829-0215 or info@omarfigueroa.com.