Santa Cruz – Ken Wing, a high-tech retiree who founded the Georgiana Bruce Kirby School, and Larkin Valley nurseryman Jon Friesell share the same problem: They want to get a license to grow medical cannabis but under the proposed Santa Cruz County cultivators ordinance, they do not meet all the criteria.
Wing has 4.97 acres, Bonny Doon property that is 1,000 yards within the coastal zone. He said he’s been growing for six years without using pesticides or cutting down trees.
“I ask you to provide some grandfather provision,” Wing said.
Friesell, who has 3 acres, has hired new employees, growing cannabis for six years, replacing flowers that became unprofitable after the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“Your ordinance as written doesn’t allow me to continue,” said Friesell.
With the county proposing a 5-acre minimum for cultivators in residential ag zones and prohibition of cultivation for a mile beyond the coastal zone, the two men spoke up Tuesday as county supervisors considered possible revisions before ordering a full environmental impact report. The final draft of the ordinance is due in October.
Megan Richofsky, a grower outside Boulder Creek, and Bill Sembrat, a grower in the Santa Cruz Mountains, also sought consideration for those with less than 5 acres.
“Is there a rational justification for adding one mile to the coastal zone?” asked Jim Coffis of Santa Cruz Mountains for Sustainable Cannabis Medicine.
The supervisors did not change the minimum acreage but voted to revise the ordinance based on input from county commissions and state and federal agencies.
For example, the ag policy commission recommended timber not be cleared for cannabis in timber production zones and favored changing the habitat setbacks.
The water advisory commission recommended a ban on timberland cultivation, and the state Water Resources Control Board wanted no cultivation within 100 feet of an intermittent stream.
The fish and wildlife advisory commission wanted meters for wells and surface diversions but said ag buffers should not apply to cannabis.
All those will be considered during the environmental review, along with the impact of indoor and outdoor grows, said county Administrative Officer Susan Mauriello.
With 835 privately owned parcels totaling 125,000 acres zoned for timber production, there appears to be significant potential for cannabis cultivation but a majority of properties do not meet the county criteria.
Only 310 parcels representing 36,000 acres are zoned for residences, a requirement for cannabis cultivation unless the land is zoned for commercial agriculture.
An Aptos property with greenhouses totaling 3 million square feet, an area equal to about 52 football fields, raises the issue of multiple leases.
Organic grower Ryan Abelson of Pajaro Pastures in Soquel argued against restrictions in the Second District, which is heavily impacted by the coastal zone plus 1-mile limit.
Bonny Doon resident Kathy Toner defended that limit as “well-considered, not arbitrary.”
Supervisor Ryan Coonerty said cultivators agreed to that limit to avoid Coastal Commission review.
“If you expand to the coastal zone, you will put yourself out of the ability to get a state license,” Coonerty said, noting Bonny Doon residents “will be happy to litigate.”
Supervisor Greg Caput, voting no, said he wanted restrictions applying to the Second District applied to his inland agricultural Fourth District, but could not get a second.
Supervisor Zach Friend said Caput’s contention that cannabis is being pushed into his district “simply isn’t true.”
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Small Medical Marijuana Cultivators Fear County Rules Exclude Them
Author: Jondi Gumz
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Photo Credit: Andrew Goff
Website: Santa Cruz Sentinel