Complaint About Illegal Cannabis Cultivation Leads to $1000 Fine in Mendocino County

mendocino county Cannabis complaint formPress release from the County of Mendocino:

In early July 2018 the Code Enforcement Division received a complaint about cultivation of cannabis without a permit and water diversion from a nearby stream in the 8000 block of Uva Drive, Redwood Valley. Subsequent investigation confirmed that cannabis was being cultivated without a permit in violation of Mendocino County Code Chapter 10A.17 and that water was being diverted to the property from a nearby creek.

The water diversion was reported the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Code Enforcement Division continued the investigation regarding the cultivation of cannabis without a permit

The property owner was located on 8/29/18 and refused to remove the 32 mature cannabis plants (approx. 900 square feet of canopy) being cultivated without a permit on his property. He was issued administrative citations and advised that the cannabis would be declared a public nuisance and an order to show cause to administratively abate the cannabis would be issued pursuant to Mendocino County Code 8.76, with all costs of abatement to be billed to him.

On 9/13/18 the property owner abated the illegal cannabis as confirmed by a Code Enforcement inspection.

The property owner was administratively fined $1000.00 as a result of the Administrative Citations he was issued for cultivating cannabis without a permit….

The Code Enforcement Division receives all Cannabis and General Code Violation complaints in the unincorporated areas of the County. Complaints can be made in person at our offices or by visiting our website at: www.mendocinocounty.org/government/codeenforcement to file an online complaint. Cannabis specific complaints can also be filed by calling the Cannabis Complaint Hotline at: (844) 421-WEED(9333).

Some interesting statistics from the County of Mendocino:

Code Enforcement Activity Statistical Information for 2018 to October 1, 2018

Post Date: 10/01/2018 10:01 AM
  1.  The Code Enforcement Division has received 489 complaints to date in 2018
    • 231 complaints were for General Code Violations not related to Cannabis
    • 258 complaints were for Cannabis issues
      • 168 Cannabis Complaints were related to 140 locations not
      • In the County Cannabis Permit Program
      • 90 Cannabis Complaints related to 44 locations were in the County Cannabis Permit Program
      • 15013 Cannabis Plants in violation of the County Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance were removed by the property owner/violator after Code Enforcement response to complaints (See Spreadsheet Data)
  2. The Code Enforcement Division has issued 47 Administrative Citations in 2018
    • 20 of those citations were related to violations of the County Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance
    • 27 of those citations were related to General County Code Violations such as non-permitted building and zoning violations
    • $42,046 in fines has been collected on these citations and there is approximately $160,000 outstanding to be collected
  3. The Code Enforcement Division has issued 100 Notices of Violation, primarily for General County Code Violations to date in 2018

The Code Enforcement Division receives all Cannabis and General Code Violation complaints in the unincorporated areas of the County. Complaints can be made in person at our offices or by visiting our website at:  www.mendocinocounty.org/codeenforcement to file an online complaint. Cannabis specific complaints can also be filed by calling the Cannabis Complaint Hotline at: (844) 421-WEED(9333).

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24 Comments
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Spotted owl.
Guest
5 years ago

Wow Humboldt county government is a bunch of rip off slime.1000 dollers in Mendocino.RECALL Estelle fennel and rex bone. What happened to our home screw these people making the decisions here
Mendocino treats its residents with a little dignity and respect looks like

barn owl
Guest
barn owl
5 years ago
Reply to  Spotted owl.

It’s like Humboldt County has fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole. How differently Mendocino County deals with the SAME set of issues is astonishing.

Flatgirl
Guest
Flatgirl
5 years ago
Reply to  barn owl

THUG mentality in Humboldt, eh?

T
Guest
T
5 years ago
Reply to  Spotted owl.

Humboldt doesnt actually charge ANYONE those crazy numbers, that would be illegal. It is just a scare tactic aimed toward already paranoid dopers. Nobody ever imagined it would work this well,

read
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  T

My neighbor paid 30k in fines earlier this season.

LostCoastEMT
Guest
LostCoastEMT
5 years ago
Reply to  read

But did he have too…?

Anon
Guest
Anon
5 years ago
Reply to  read

Did your neighbor have 32 plants or 900 sq feet?… probably more like 3200 plants and 9000 sq ft

Proboner
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  read

It’s like rex wants to bear spray the county in the face!!

Blake Lehman
Guest
Blake Lehman
5 years ago

Mendo has always been a step ahead of Humboldt in this arena…. It’s called “open-eyes”. Amnesty programs, water forbearance programs, etc. Not “We’re gonna fine you seven zillion dollars a day until you comply”. What happened to working together to build a better tomorrow? I wanna know where this “fine money” is going if it is ever collected??? Schools?, Roads?, Rivers?, just thoughts.

Small Fry
Guest
Small Fry
5 years ago

As far as I have researched.. Humboldt’s fines are EXTREMELY exssesive, compared to most other counties. Me personally, I do support reasonable abatement laws… But Humboldt’s laws? Wow. The county is bitter that the hippies fought Maxam for so long… and wants to punish people. At least that is my beilive as to why the county has implemented these abusive.. extremely excessive fines, and policies.

Enough already
Guest
Enough already
5 years ago

I am inclined to agree with T…the amounts of fines are the max, just like sentences when convicted of crimes. The max is very rarely given. Why is it that none of the growers that have abatement action against them have come forward and said how much they were actually fined or if the county even is working with them? Only panick and paranoid comments. And you can bet that property owner used the time to harvest and sell those plants, and he’ll be growing again next year. Just like driving with a suspended license.

read
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Enough already

A lot of people are moving on to something else and I do not believe many large growers leave comments here. This “max” has no precedence.

LostCoastEMT
Guest
LostCoastEMT
5 years ago
Reply to  read

What’s “something else” in humboldt?

Faro
Guest
Faro
5 years ago
Reply to  Enough already

I personally know more than a few people who’ve gotten these. The biggest fine was over 100,000. The smallest was 20,000.

Mendicino seems so much more reasonable. Humboldt seems to have it all wrong. Why waste county tax dollars on enforcement and bankrupting your citizens? The state is going to clean this place out in the next few years so the corporations can make all the money.

Spotted owl.
Guest
5 years ago

RECALL Estelle fennel and rex bone!!! They’re the pro abatement couple

cove-ite
Guest
cove-ite
5 years ago

That’s nice he hung on until he could harvest and took a reasonable $1000 fine.
I’m moving to Mendo.
F**k Hum Co government

SourJSweet
Guest
SourJSweet
5 years ago

You just have to pay off a sup and you will be fine like me.

LostCoastEMT
Guest
LostCoastEMT
5 years ago
Reply to  SourJSweet

Now that’s funny. Never trust a guy who wears 2,000$ silk salmon colored shirts and crosses his legs when he sits.

WillSmithFreshPrinceOfHumCO
Guest
WillSmithFreshPrinceOfHumCO
5 years ago
Reply to  LostCoastEMT

Who are you referencing? Rex?

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

Imagine the outrage when any other industry was given such a slap on the wrist and allowed to keep at their damaging business with so little interference. Gravel mining? Logging? Ranching? All parriahs that should be cut off at the knees when they get away with anything. Pot growers? Well that’s different.

Self centered much? Government should not be a mother futilely begging her children to stop being screw ups.

Spotted owl.
Guest
5 years ago

And government shouldn’t be corrupt having there relatives permits pushed through,taking pay offs,and extorting there constitutes to elevate there payoff club

In my 1911 I trust
Guest
In my 1911 I trust
5 years ago

Here is the biggest difference between Humboldt and Mendocino, and no it doesn’t have to do with square footage of gardens, the number of plants, or the fact that both counties issue abatement notices. “Subsequent investigation confirmed that cannabis was being cultivated without a permit in violation of Mendocino County Code Chapter 10A.17” Notice the part that says SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION. That means the abatements in Mendo actually hold water and don’t violate anyone’s civil rights. They actually investigate a complaint, gather evidence, build a case, and then issue an abatement. Humboldt just looks through their little eye in the sky and issues abatement en masse to everyone and anything that has a greenhouse because they just ASSUME that there is probably weed in there, they don’t investigate. I now personally know two good people who don’t have anything to do with weed who have been swept up in this unlawful abatement storm.

George
Guest
5 years ago

I do believe a comment by a Mendolander may be appropriate…. That enforcement raid you wrote up is the only one I am aware of.

The general feeling down here is that Mendo County wanted legalization in the worst way…and that’s how they got it. Two stupervisors, acting without legal advice, designed the county pot legalization program. They are still tinkering with it, even as the permitting process is even slower and more poorly run than Humboldt’s. Four or five persons have been employed to run the county’s legalization program, then abruptly fired. Meanwhile, the stupidvisors have granted themselves a 40% raise for their efforts.

Sad days ahead
Guest
Sad days ahead
5 years ago

This is sad days when people are telling on each other 🙁 time to go where you really can grow … anywhere but here !