After the public hearing, the Board directed Staff to confer with the Lake County Air Quality Management District on options to minimize odor impacts between cannabis cultivation and processing, and off-site residences. Additionally, the following further amendments and research were requested:
• Minimum canopy during a Reduced Canopy season
• Fine for missing filing deadline for Opt Out & Reduced Canopy request
• Multiple site visits for mixed light/indoor cultivation during Reduced Canopy year
• Public posting of Annual Inspection Reports
• Add Minor Use Permit for Cannabis Retail in “C2” Community Commercial zoning district
• Add $5,000 Surety Bond requirement
• Review available data for options for reduce odor impacts to offsite residences
• No change to Farmland Protection Zone boundaries (maps included as Attachment 1)
Further amendments to the draft Ordinance are in process to reflect the above (included in Attachment 2), and corrections noted by Supervisor Sabatier at the last meeting. The Board asked for a report on existing permits, specific to size of canopy permitted, base zoning district, and distance from nearest offsite residence. This report is included as Attachment 3.
Reduced Canopy Request - Minimum Canopy Required
Licensees are able to notify the State Cannabis Control Department of a reduction of canopy on an annual basis. The smallest cannabis cultivation license for outdoor cultivation (Type 1c) allows for up to 2,500 sf outdoor and mixed light, and up to 500 sf indoor. Alternatively, the Board could set a minimum canopy based on a percentage of the total canopy approved. Staff has no preference on either option.
Reduced Canopy and Opt Out - Missing Deadline to File - Fines
Staff has begun work with County Counsel to establish a fine for not filing a Reduced Canopy/Opt Out Request before the June 1st deadline.
Reduced Canopy - Compliance Monitoring Site Visits for Mixed Light/Indoor Cultivation - A second compliance monitoring site visit will be required during the calendar year for mixed light and indoor permits.
Annual Inspection Reports - Public Access
Staff will reconfigure the Annual Inspection Report to separate any proprietary and/or confidential information and will upload these reports to the electronic permitting system as a public record.
Cannabis Retail - Permitting Requirement
The draft Ordinance will been modified to remove the use by right, and add a Minor Use Permit requirement for Cannabis Retail in the “C2” Community Commercial Zoning District, and add the Minor Use Permit requirement to the Table at Section 27.13.
Surety Bond
The draft Ordinance will be modified to add a required $5,000 surety bond to every commercial cannabis cultivation permit, listing the County of Lake as obligee.
Odor impacts
Staff met with Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart and discussed a number of studies and guidelines regarding toxins and hazards, though none were specific to cannabis. Staff also reviewed the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report prepared for the County of Sonoma for their cannabis regulation update. Based on this research, Staff recommends the combination of use of inverse square for setbacks varying by size of canopy and starting at 800’ for a canopy of ≤10,000 sf, Permittee participation in the Western Weather Group, and addition of any/all of the options listed below, in order to decrease the setback to no less than 1,000 feet from the nearest offsite residence. This reduction in setback would require substantiation by an Odor Control Plan, demonstrating that the odor can be reduced to no more than a 7:1 ratio of clean air to odor, at the property line. Additional odor minimizing options include:
• Site selection and layout, avoidance by design to maximize distance and topographic shielding between flowering plants and neighbors recommended during Pre-Application Conference (pre-proposal stage).
• Use prevailing-wind analysis to place grows downwind of receptors where feasible
• Use vegetative windbreaks, shelterbelts, or fencing to promote vertical dispersion and dilute odor, recognizing these are partial measures.
• Stagger planting and harvest to avoid a single, large peak-odor period, or limit total canopy during flowering if neighbors are close.
• Manage waste (fan leaves, stalks, trim) promptly via covered containers, rapid composting, or off-site removal to avoid extra odor sources beyond live plants.
The recent discussions with Air Quality Management District also established the requirement for an air filtration permit from the Air Quality Management District for cultivation and processing taking place within a structure and using air filtration systems to minimize odor. Department Staff was unaware of this requirement is reviewing current permits and pending applications for its inclusion and enforcement.
The table below illustrates an inverse square approach to setbacks between cannabis canopy and offsite residences, with both 200’ and 800’ at 10,000 sf canopy options.