On December 12, 2024, this item was brought before the Planning Commission, having been continued from the initial hearing date of October 10, 2024. During the hearing, public comments were introduced into the administrative record, which provided new information relevant to a potential violation of Chapter 30, Lake County Grading Ordinance. A continuation of the project was scheduled to a date and time certain of February 13, 2025, at 9:05 a.m. to allow staff to address public concerns specific to grading without a permit which is further discussed within the Points of Interest section below.
The applicant, 17870 Little High Valley, LLC/Mark MCDonald is requesting discretionary approval from the County of Lake for a Major Use Permit (UP 21-07) Little High Valley for a proposed outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation operation located at 17870 Little High Valley Road, Lower Lake (APN: 012-061-03). The Project Parcel is located in a rural area of southwestern Lake County approximately 2.5 miles southeast of the community of Lower Lake and is accessed via deeded easements on Little High Valley Road to Spruce Grove Road, a county-maintained road.
The operation would include two (2) A - Type 3 “Medium Outdoor” commercial cannabis cultivation license consisting of 87,120 sf of canopy area one within 90,620 sf cultivation area, and one (1) Type 13 “Self-Distribution: Transport Only” license, and a 3,500-sf building (50’x70’x14’) for processing, drying, and storage of cannabis. The subject parcel is zoned “RL” Rural Lands, is approximately 78.38 acres in size. Historical uses of the site include agricultural operations and cattle grazing.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends the Planning Commission take the following actions:
A. Adopt Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS 21-07) for Major Use Permit (UP 21-07) with the following findings:
1. Potential environmental impacts related to Aesthetics can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measure AES-1.
2. Potential environmental impacts related to Air Quality can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures AQ-1 through AQ-6.
3. Potential environmental impacts related to Biological Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures BIO-1 through BIO-5.
4. Potential environmental impacts related to Cultural Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures CUL-1 and CUL-2.
5. Potential environmental impacts related to Hazards and Hazardous Materials can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures HAZ-1 through HAZ-8.
6. Potential environmental impacts related to Hydrology and Water Quality can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures HYD-1 and HYD-2.
7. Potential environmental impacts related to noise can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures NOI-1 and NOI-2.