Sonoma County Supervisors Reject Proposed Amendments to Cannabis Policy; Vote in Support of Prolonged Comprehensive Update and EIR Process
By Lauren Mendelsohn
June 13, 2021
Last month, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to reject the proposed new Chapter 38 and proposed amendments to Chapter 26, which would have allowed for some expanded permitting in agricultural and resource areas with various other changes. We previously wrote about the original version of the proposed Chapter 38 (as staff had written and before the Planning Commission had made their recommendations) here and here.
This past week, the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the expenditure of $370,000 to speed up processing the backlog of cannabis permit applications and to pay for outreach and staff time to develop goals for a new ordinance and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The outreach, ordinance and EIR preparation and review process is estimated to take until late 2024, eight years after Sonoma County adopted its first commercial cannabis ordinance in December 2016. The sluggish progress towards a more favorable solution has left both industry representatives and neighborhood groups frustrated. Hopefully, the recent dedication of funds to speed up permit processing proves to be effective in this regard. The county will continue to accept and process applications under its current ordinance, which allows for various types of commercial cannabis activity pursuant to zoning restrictions, including up to one acre of outdoor cultivation with a use permit.
As part of Governor Newsom’s “California Comeback Plan,” Sonoma County is also eligible for a state grant of $1,158,023 once this becomes available (it will have to be applied for). These funds could be used to help the county with both processing current applications and developing an updated policy, including the costs associated with an EIR.
Additionally, as we wrote about earlier this year, Sonoma County was awarded a $75,000 grant from the State to develop a cannabis social equity program. The county has since engaged the California Center for Rural Policy (CCRP) to assist with this process, which is currently underway.
Check back with us for more updates regarding cannabis and hemp policies in Sonoma County.
This information is provided as a public educational service and is not intended as legal advice. For specific questions regarding cannabis or hemp licensing in Sonoma County or elsewhere in California, please contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa at 707-829-0215 or info@omarfigueroa.com to schedule a confidential legal consultation.