Staff recommends amending Article 27, Uses Generally Permitted in light of these contributions, while we concurrently work on establishing thresholds of significance through the CEQA process for issues associated with the revised Cannabis Ordinance, Article 73, which is in the Drafting process with the Planning Division.
Direction from the Board on this process has been clear; to streamline the current regulations to support legal cannabis activity, while considering the impacts of the industry on the surrounding environment and improve processes to reveal and address bad actors. The following summary identifies issues for the local regulations governing commercial cannabis-related enterprises that can be corrected by implementation of an amendment to Article 27, Uses Generally Permitted. These actions have no potential for significant effect on the environment, qualifying for the Common Sense exemption in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Section 15061(b)(3).
The following summary addresses these issues to achieve these directives, as directed by the Board of Supervisors.
• Increased setbacks from offsite residences from 200’ to 500’
• A cap in the size of the commercial cannabis canopy at 20 acres or 871,200 square feet
• Incomplete, abandoned applications - establishes process for departmental denial of stagnant applications
• Application and Qualifications for Background Clearance for County Permit - sync with state regulations to address challenges noted by the Treasurer-Tax Collector for tax collection
• Active warrant review for property owner(s) and applicant(s) - to be established at Completeness Review stage
• Method for Calculating Canopy - sync with state method
• Setbacks from Industrial Hemp and Commercial Cannabis canopy - for clarity during site visits
• Scenic Corridor setbacks
• METRC Track and Trace tag destruction after use
• Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Exclusion Areas; Clear Lake at 7.79 Rumsey as Public Land
• Farmland Protection Zone; Greenhouse construction shall utilize anchor-point foundation when feasible. Concrete slab foundations are discouraged.
• Setbacks from watercourses in alignment with the minimum Riparian Setbacks approved by the California State Water Resources Quality Control Board.
• Construction hours, Operational hours, and Delivery hours
• Opt Out and Reduced Canopy Process due to CDD by June 1
• Opt Out not allowed for consecutive years
• Voluntary Termination of Use for an Approved Project
• Expiration; two years of inactivity, including two consecutive years of opting out
• Removal of 10-year permit limit
• $5,000 Restoration Bond; Lake County as obligee
The proposed timeline for presentation of a draft ordinance of the above listed items is as follows:
• Presentation of this summary to the Planning Commission on October 9, 2025;
• Public Hearing of draft Ordinance at Planning Commission on November 13, 2025;
• Public Hearing and possible first reading of draft Ordinance at Board of Supervisors on November 18, 2025;
Please note that the following items, which will not be addressed by implementation of an amendment to Article 27, Uses Generally Permitted, will require CEQA analysis for the drafting of Article 73.
• Air Quality
• Water Use
• Prohibited activities: tree removal, odor
• Type S: Shared Manufacturing facilities
• Type 9 Retail sales, delivery only
• Type 10 retail sales with onsite consumption
• Temporary Cannabis events
• Temporary Cannabis events with onsite consumption
• Excessive Concentration of Retail Sales locations