Supes Settle With HUMMAP Over New Medical Marijuana Ordinance

Marijuana leaf blue skyPress release from HUMMAP:

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on January 26 adopted a commercial medical marijuana ordinance. The Humboldt-Mendocino Marijuana Advocacy Project (Hummap), which represents small outdoor marijuana growers, filed suit February 26 to block the environmental damage the ordinance will cause. On July 5 the Board of Supervisors voted to accept the settlement detailed below. The judge is the Honorable Dale A. Reinholtsen. Among other things, Hummap argued an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) should have been prepared.
What has the Hummap lawsuit accomplished? The County and Hummap have worked together to improve the situation in the following ways:

• The County agrees to allow no further modifications to the ordinance, or to accept permit applications past the established December 31 deadline, until a full EIR is prepared.

This represents little change over the pre-lawsuit status, as the County already had authorized an eventual EIR. The Director of Planning and Building, Rob Wall, said he will start work on it this summer. However, the EIR is now obligatory and in theory forms a wall against further environmental damage after December 31. This wall will only be as strong as its defenders.

This guarantees an important opportunity for environmental groups to step up to protect our local environment from the ravages of some marijuana farming. Hummap is well aware that a healthy industry depends on a healthy environment. As a trade group we saw it was necessary to make up for unacceptable lapses by environmentalists. The larger marijuana groups focused more on money, not ethics. As nearly all Humboldt citizens are aware, we have in marijuana by far the largest threat -and opportunity- to Humboldt County in many decades. The Hummap lawsuit calls out for much better vigilance by environmental groups.

Not only does the County now agree to take no substantive actions in regard to the ordinance, nor to renew it, prior to completion of an EIR, it also agrees to establish January 1, 2016, as the baseline for that EIR. Hummap views this baseline date as an important aspect of the settlement. Other matters:

• Hummap is very pleased the parties agreed to clarify the noise standard as measured at the property line. Noise is the by far loudest complaint from citizens about neighboring grows. The ordinance now makes clear that the 60 decibel limit in the ordinance includes all noise coming from the site, including generator noise. This is important because it is impossible to separate out which part of the noise is from the generator alone, and other associated sources of noise from the site may be offensive besides. The County also has agreed to adopt within 30 days a strong policy regarding generator noise affecting the Spotted Owl and the Marbled Murrelet. The policy will compel a 50 decibel limit measured near the generator.

• The County has agreed to adopt within 30 days a policy requiring that carbon credits must be purchased from a state-accredited source.

• Because of strong objections by Cal-Fire that they did not wish to be substantially involved in the permitting process, a work-around provision was added by which a Registered Professional Forester may recommend the 3-acre forestland exemption instead. Yet Cal-Fire is the final legal authority for these, thus political or legal changes at the state level may be necessary.

• The County and Hummap agreed to a list of minor and technical amendments to the ordinance. Many of the small flaws were spotted by Hummap. These flaws attest to the rush with which the ordinance was initially considered. There were also substantial corrections made to the acreage accounts, not only correcting errors but also harmonizing the Coastal and Inland sections of the ordinance. A definition of “Public Park” was added.

• The parties agreed that setbacks of cultivation operations from public parks important to wildlife should not necessarily be zero, and therefore provided that such setbacks will require a Special Permit in which neighbors may comment on the proposal.

Various large issues pertaining to the law could not be addressed in this settlement. They are issues that would have been addressed had the parties gone to court. Lawsuits are very expensive, and generally are reserved to wealthy individuals and organizations. Surely this is an unsurprising comment about our economic system.

Hummap was represented by Rachel Doughty of Greenfire Law, located in Berkeley. She was assisted by attorney Eugene Denson of Alderpoint and an anonymous Bay Area attorney. Humboldt County was represented by Jeffrey Blanck, County Counsel, and Natalie Duke and Joel Ellinwood, Deputy Counsel.

It tentatively appears that all the persons and organizations that financially supported our suit will be fully compensated. If you are contributor, we will appreciate hearing whether you prefer a refund or are contributing your share to Hummap. Our treasurer is Gil Gregori, 707-986-7787. Thank you.

The Hummap lawsuit had wide influence beyond Humboldt County, notably in Mendocino and Trinity. Hummap thanks the many concerned citizens and public officials who share our environmental concerns about the catastrophic Green Rush we all are experiencing. We can have a healthy future!

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules

Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

18 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Mogtx
Guest
7 years ago

Just some more hoops to jump thew .

ghostown
Guest
ghostown
7 years ago
Reply to  Mogtx

if you didn’t jump through the first hoop before Jan. 1 2016 the hoops just got real costly.

Futurethoughts
Guest
Futurethoughts
7 years ago

The look on their faces. When legal pot loses again. Lot of wasted time making regulations. Lot of names on government records. It would be ok just to wait and see what the voters say.

Huh ?
Guest
Huh ?
7 years ago
Reply to  Futurethoughts

I’m not sure that just because recreational marijuana becomes legal that the government would allow people to grow as nuch as they want . I see restrictions getting tighter , actually.

Llc.
Guest
Llc.
7 years ago
Reply to  Huh ?

Wrong..AUMA ( adult use of marijuana act) for California would allow unlimited size farms (.The current medical regulation act has some sort of limitation, although humboldt has embraced the largest size medical pot farm limits in the state increasing this ” green rush” .Vote no on AUMA.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5800058-181/north-coast-pot-growers-law?artslide=0

“Supporters say the measure incorporates many elements of the medical cannabis law, including a renaming of the new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation in the Department of Consumer Affairs as the Bureau of Marijuana Control.

But there are two differences that have North Coast marijuana growers worried.

The medical cannabis law sets a cultivation limit of a half-acre indoors and an acre outdoors, while AUMA allows operations of unlimited size, with the stipulation that such licenses cannot be issued until 2023.

And while the medical pot law tightly limits vertical integration for commercial operations, the ballot measure would allow businesses to hold licenses for cultivation, manufacturing, retail sales, distribution and testing.

“They blew it open,” said Allen, whose association lobbied for more protection for small and medium-sized farms.

Industrial-scale pot growing facilities are already being established in places like Adelanto, a desert city that intends to accommodate a half-million square feet of marijuana warehouses that could produce about 50,000 pounds of marijuana up to six times a year.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5800058-181/north-coast-pot-growers-law?artslide=0

No Limit Soldiers
Guest
No Limit Soldiers
7 years ago
Reply to  Llc.

Good. That’s the way it should be, allowing the free-market to work it’s self out.
Yes on AUMA

Truth
Guest
7 years ago

Screw all you greed heads.

really
Guest
really
7 years ago
Reply to  Llc.

You will never eliminate the environmental laws Period

workingman
Guest
workingman
7 years ago

So let’s get this straight. Growers like the government making weed illegal so they can sell it at a huge mark up but now anyone will be able to do it , essentially a free market. Growers are all upset. Why can’t growers be honest?

Llc.
Guest
Llc.
7 years ago
Reply to  workingman

MR. Obama our POTUS said it best ..

http://fusion.net/story/117932/obama-was-asked-about-marijuana-legalization-while-in-jamaica-and-heres-how-he-responded/

He also warned that small, local marijuana producers could eventually be overrun by huge corporations.

“If you think that big multinational companies are not going to suddenly come in and market and try to control and profit from the trade,” he said. “that’s, I think, a very real scenario.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-rZBGszjw

(Above is the video of the president answering legalization question)

silverlining
Guest
silverlining
7 years ago

You do know the generator noise hurting owls is an unfounded theory right?
Woods is at times disingenuous . IMO he is the master of dog whistle statements meant to mobilize the rubes in the neighborhood.
I will be looking forward to him proving these ” ideas” in a true scientific fashion.
I for one question the local pied piper.

really
Guest
really
7 years ago
Reply to  silverlining

Bullshit those generators are pollution and you can hear them across the valley

Ben
Guest
Ben
7 years ago

Only the thoughtless could think generator noise anf light pollution are not a problem for wildlife.. The thoughtless and the profiteer..

silverlining
Guest
silverlining
7 years ago
Reply to  Ben

So why blow smoke with a baseless owl theory? Oh, that’s right, it worked for Redwood Summer, lets just do a re- run.
I don’t think going Trump on this issue will be very helpful. The code is written so as to violate 4’th Amendment rites by having people violate your privacy with onsite sound measurements.
Absolutely Orwellian! They are not satisfied with measurements on the property line. They insist on intruding deep and playing to a crowd of people deep fear as to the future of their job security.
The whole “Owl” issue points to a man more interested in raising funds for himself and his base than finding the truth.
Read my post, and the article, before you pass judgment.

Black Rush
Guest
Black Rush
7 years ago

Noise?? What are the decibels of a bulldozer doing a 3 acre conversion signed off by– BE A GREEN DOT or PACIFIC WATERSHED ?Logging trucks? All to get “into compliance “.
Now Cal Fire doesn’t even need to inspect? HUMMAP missed the real problem.
🚜🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱☀️

really
Guest
really
7 years ago
Reply to  Black Rush

Dozer runs during the day for a few hrs .Generator running for 18 hrs

Black Rush
Guest
Black Rush
7 years ago
Reply to  really

Really ? From your post it’s hard to tell where you stand on the matter of burning diesel for growing or for developing sites ?

Black Rush
Guest
Black Rush
7 years ago

Be a BROWN AND DUSTY DOT all in the name of compliance.