Memorandum
Date: July 26, 2022
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: ANITA L. GRANT, County Counsel
Subject: 11:00 A.M. - Discussion and Consideration of: a) An Interim Urgency Ordinance Implementing a Temporary Moratorium on the Issuance of Early Activation Permits for Commercial Cannabis; and b) A Resolution of Intention of the Lake County Board of Supervisors to Initiate an Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance Relating to Early Activation
Executive Summary:
During your Board’s meeting on July 19, 2022, you directed me to bring back to you at the next meeting an interim urgency ordinance implementing a renewed moratorium on the issuance of early activation permits. I have prepared a draft ordinance for your review and consideration.
Government Code section 65858, subdivision (f) allows a jurisdiction to adopt another interim ordinance provided that the interim ordinance is adopted to protect public safety, health, and welfare from an event, occurrence, or set of circumstances different from the event, occurrence, or set of circumstances that led to the adoption of the prior interim ordinance.
Here, the prior interim ordinance relating to early activation permits arose from a situation where there was an overwhelming backlog of early activation permits applications for cannabis cultivation which created significant delays in process minor and major use permits.
The backlog is being addressed. However, new circumstances have arisen in the form of the Board’s creation of a task force to consider and improve the commercial cannabis permitting processing and regulations. That task force will be taking a comprehensive view of the entire commercial cannabis permitting process and the continuation of early activation permitting now may result in the development of projects that would conflict with the improvements recommended by this task force.
Also presented for your Board’s consideration is an Resolution of Intention whereby your Board directs that the Community Development Department’s draft ordinance reflecting its recommendation to rescind existing provisions of the Zoning Ordinance related to early activation permits be presented to the Planning Commission for its recommendations and to the task force for its comments prior to taking action.
Thank you.
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Recommended Action: