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 subject parcel is zoned “RL” Rural Lands, is approximately
78.38 acres in size and is accessed via private driveway connecting directly to Little High Valley Road. 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 a private gravel and native soil surfaced access road from Little High Valley Road. The topography of the parcel is moderately to steeply sloped and is located on a volcanic ridge with elevations ranging between 1,840 and 2,210 feet above sea level. Due to the location of the parcel near the top of a porous volcanic ridge, there are no jurisdictional watercourses onsite.
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. Historical uses of the site include agricultural operations and cattle grazing. The property was burned in the 2015 Clayton Fire which caused the loss of many of the trees and chapparal on site. The site currently contains burned chapparal and oak trees.
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.
8. Potential environmental impacts related to Tribal Cultural Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures CUL-1, CUL-2, TCR-1, and TCR-2
9. Potential wildfire impacts can be reduced to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures WDF-1 through WDF-5.
10. This project is consistent with land uses in the vicinity.
11. This project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan, Lower Lake Area Plan and Lake County Zoning Ordinance.
B. Approve Major Use Permit (UP 21-07) with the following findings:
1. That the establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use applied for will not under the circumstances of the particular case, be detrimental to the health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the persons residing or working in the neighborhood of such proposed use or be detrimental to property and improvements in the neighborhood or the general welfare of the County.
2. That the site for the project is adequate in size, shape, location, and physical characteristics to accommodate the type of use and level of development proposed.
3. That the streets, highways and pedestrian facilities are reasonably adequate to safely accommodate the specific proposed use with mitigation measure added.
4. That there are adequate public or private services, including but not limited to fire protection, water supply, sewage disposal, and police protection to serve the project.
5. That the project is in conformance with the applicable provisions and policies of this Code, the Lake County General Plan, the Lower Lake Area Plan and the Lake County Zoning Ordinance.
6. That no violation of Chapters 5, 17, 21, 23 or 26 of the Lake County Code currently exists on the property, unless the purpose of the permit is to correct the violation, or the permit relates to a portion of the property which is sufficiently separate and apart from the portion of the property in violation so as not to be affected by the violation from a public health, safety or general welfare basis.
7. The proposed use complies with all development standards described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.i.
8. The applicant is qualified to make the application described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.ii.(g).
9. The application complies with the qualifications for a permit described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.ii.(i).