Memorandum
Date: March 10, 2026
To: The Honorable Lake County Planning Commission
From: Mireya G. Turner, Community Development Director
Mary Claybon, Senior Planner
Subject: 11:00 A.M. - PUBLIC HEARING - Consideration of Ordinance to Amend Chapter 21, Article 27 regarding Commercial Cannabis Regulation
Executive Summary: At the Board meeting on October 7, 2025, the Board received a presentation from Staff regarding the bifurcation of the cannabis regulation update into two portions. The first draft ordinance, included as Attachment A, would make certain amendments to Article 27, where the current cannabis regulations are located, in addition to many other commercial land uses. The department is comfortable proposing the following amendments to qualify for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Common Sense Exemption (Section 15061(b)(3), which allows certain projects to bypass environmental review when there is no reasonable significant impact. The future ordinance would create Article 73, a new chapter of the Zoning Code to include uses exclusive to cannabis. The items included in this draft Ordinance have been approved by the Cannabis Ordinance Task Force, and approved in concept, by the Board of Supervisors. The Planning Commission added recommendations at their meeting on December 11, 2025, and the Agriculture Advisory Committee made further recommendations at their meeting on January 26, 2026. Both sets of recommendations are included at the end of this memorandum.
The table included as Attachment 1 lists the amendments to Article 27 for the following topics:
* Setbacks from off-site residences
* Maximum canopy
* Applicant and Property Owner Identification and Background Checks
* Operating Hours
* 10-year Permit Duration and Renewal
* Opt Out and Reduced Canopy Options
* Exclusion Areas
* Farmland Protection Zone - development standard
* Riparian Setbacks
* Annual Performance Review - Reports and Process
* Incomplete and Abandoned Appl...
Click here for full text