Memorandum
Date: March 2, 2021
To: The Honorable Bruno Sabatier, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: District 2 Supervisor, Bruno Sabatier
Subject: Early Activation Changes (a) Amendment to Cannabis Cultivation ordinance (b) Resolution for those were Early Activated in 2020 (c) Efficiency processes, direction to staff
Executive Summary: (include fiscal and staffing impact narrative):
Early Activations have been a useful tool in getting the cannabis industry settled in Lake County. Part of the reason for Early Activations was due to the backlog of applications that have been received in Community Development. However, we need to ensure that our Early Activations are tightened up and follow a precise pathway both dedicated to ensure the protection of our environment and to fulfill our requirements based on state law. Both staff and applicants can benefit from these changes.
(a) An amendment to our cannabis cultivation ordinance, 27.13 (at), 2, i, (c) will help guide applicants through the process of Early Activation. Additions to the ordinance include a public notification and agency comments on the project. Cannabis due to its smell has the potential to be a nuisance and even Early Activation should be required to follow appropriate notifications. There are also restrictions on changing your early activation. Staff has spent altogether too much time dealing with changes and updates to early activation permits while their focus needs to remain on processing use permits. This would restrict the applicant to submitting an early activation plan and once approved, no changes are allowed. Finally, it also limits the timeline for when an Early Activation can be requested. Some applicants in August were requesting an Early Activation from the department. There is just not enough time to provide the permit, and obtain a state license in a timely fashion. April 20th is being offered as the deadline each calendar year for when you can request ...
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