Page 10 - Sonoma County Gazette - August 2018

LETTERS cont’d from page 9
If the county implements Exclusion and Inclusion zones they should be applied only to areas that are not currently considered for cannabis uses. Farmers that follow the guidelines set forth by the County should not be disadvantaged
Where are the requirements for longer setbacks for larger grows?
into account very well. Our current standard medical model is not serving us well enough.
cultivations next to open space areas and regional parks.
Three hundred feet from an acre marijuana grow, or from anything within smelling distance, to a family room is not a mitigating setback: it’s a freebie to growers. County fail!
The current opioid crisis and
the vast number of prescriptions written for anti-depressants validate that statement. People are in pain, spiritually, mentally and physically. We need radical, worldwide solutions to our modern plagues - CANCER, DEPRESSION, ANTI- BIOTIC RESISTANT PATHOGENS, and PHYSICAL DEGENERATION due to our modern sedentary lifestyles.
This can be alleviated by having this setback recommendation apply only to parks with playgrounds with full flexibility to change the setback during a CUP hearing or removing this requirement altogether which would align with state law.
by neighbors who have ethical objections to their crop of choice, an infringement on their rights as land owners.
2. Then the County fails to protect those RR residents who live on DA borders and in the many clusters of RR neighborhoods the County embedded in DA zones. These residents have NO property setback protection from the nearly as noxious indoor DA grows. No setback is mitigation? Seriously? County fail, again.
As cannabis cultivators, we have been part of Sonoma County for many generations. We take pride
in positively contributing to our community by creating new jobs, increasing the county’s general fund through tax revenue, and dedicating our lives to creating medicine.
As cannabis operators, we stand for positively contributing to our community. At our core, this industry and its operators are dedicated to helping people live healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Cannabis is one of those radical solutions! Cannabis can help ease
the side effects of cancer, and quite possibly cure cancer altogether if
used at the right dosage for the right amount of time. The research is astounding! We have just scratched the surface of re-discovering what this wonderful plant can do for the world!
It is unfair to punish us after we have worked tirelessly to comply
with the County’s guidelines at the mercy of an outspoken minority that has personal objections to our crop
of choice. A lot of their concerns are already addressed by our compliance with local and state legislation. This includes our execution of a strict security program, practices that do not harm our environment, and ensuring fire safety.
Outdoor Grows
The vacation rental ordinance has similar difficulties which would
be good to avoid. A convoluted ordinance would slow down local government.
Setbacks are often used to ensure neighborhood compatibility and mitigate impacts of a particular land use such as odor, noise, or light. Setbacks are effective ways to mitigate these impacts as they focus on site design elements rather than regulating ongoing behaviors.
the globe. Lets follow that tradition now. Let’s show how a community can come together and work out its differences in a collaborative, compassionate, progressive way. I know WE can do this!
A majority of the Cannabis Advisory Committee does not support Exclusion Zones. Besides job creation, cannabis farmers supply important tax revenue to the county general fund.
Yet, parts of the County’s Final Cannabis Ordinance are so far out of sync with the above that it beggars belief:
I would like to propose stepping back from all of that and taking
a bird’s eye view of the current situation...
I see the spread of cannabis legalization as one of the heart -lights on a web of evolving consciousness across the globe. Cannabis is a heart- opening plant. It is an adaptogen.
It can encourage compassion, introspection, and thinking outside the box, or thinking progressively inside the box. The world needs to
10 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 8/18
LETTERS cont’d on page 11
Shivawn Brady, Santa Rosa
3. And where are the protective graduated buffers in the form of limits on the numbers and sizes of outdoor DA grows on RR borders and on grows surrounding the County- embedded RR areas in DA zones? Again, County fail.
It does not make sense to use potential fire hazards as a primary reason for the creation of exclusion zones. As cannabis cultivators, we
are mandated to have on-site water storage, clear areas for planting, and maintain access roads. During last year’s devastating fires we assisted our neighbors, helped firefighters, and protected our neighbors’ properties.
All the cities in Sonoma County, with the exception of Cloverdale have banned outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation. Santa Rosa does permit commercial cannabis cultivation, but only in industrial zones.
It’s as if the County is determined to pound square pegs into round holes to accommodate growers while unwilling residents are the pegs being pounded on.
The world is at a crisis point on many levels. We need radically creative solutions. We need to blend ancient wisdom with modern technology.
We need to move forward with sensible cannabis policies and permit properties that are currently allowed to apply for cannabis uses to stay that way, especially those under Penalty Relief. An applicant will have to work hard to build neighbor support, and such support or lack thereof will be seen in a CUP hearing.
Currently, the County allows commercial growers to obtain ministerial permits without any notification to the surrounding neighbors and without environmental review.
The County needs to recognize
two realities: Sonoma County is no longer a county of wide-open spaces, and it is ongoing behaviors from nearby properties and not some “site design elements” that can make neighborhood life miserable. That’s one of the reasons I’m not returning to the county after living in it off and on since 1943.
I am suggesting that we transition from debating over things like unrealistic 1,000 ft. setbacks from cultivation sites to houses to having real, progressive dialog about how
we can achieve a balance around cannabis cultivation. Cannabis is here; it has been here for a very long time. The world is demanding cannabis
People living in unincorporated Sonoma County are the only one
that are going to be impacted by the proliferation of outdoor commercial cannabis grows. The majority of the people living in the incorporated
cities in Sonoma County won’t be impacted by the odor, noise, and crime associated with growing marijuana.
4. Now we learn that the Planning Commission wants to allow commercial marijuana grows in RR and AR Zones. Total County fail!
We are all being roped into this modern social experiment - ready or not. This is not easy for anyone who is passionate about either side. We don’t seem to have a choice; cannabis legalization is spreading across the globe.
Turning Sonoma County into the marijuana capital of California with change the entire look and fabric of our county. There’s a reason Marin and Napa Counties have banned the outdoor cultivation of marijuana.
Is the County really that willing to invite lawsuits over a grower- friendly/resident-hostile marijuana ordinance?
for its woes. I suggest we wade through our fears together and spend our collective energy on creative collaboration.
Candace Bennyi
Respectfully, R. T. Guthrie, Lakeport
How can we co exist in this new era of clean as organic, ecologically mindful, fully regulated, taxed and
The SF bay area is world renowned for the steady stream of innovative, creative, progressive collaborations that start here and spread across
Exclusion zones create more questions than answers. Creating public arguments for or against areas being excluded or included will slow down what should be a very clear ordinance and if someone is allowed to cultivate or not. Neighbors change over time, so opinions on what should be allowed or not, will change as
well. This is not fair to applicants, or residents in neighborhoods.
County Fail
Cannabis: Alternative to Pain & Suffering
monitored cannabis?
In County documents and staff reports, one finds somewhat reasonable sentences like:
I am the owner of a Cannabis business here in Sonoma County. My husband and I run our cottage-size cannabis farm. I have been observing this debate within our community over whether or not to, and where to allow cannabis cultivation. We have all heard both sides of the debate. We do need to refine the ordinance that will happen over time.
1. The County considers the fumes from a 43,560 sq ft marijuana grow to be no more noxious to downwind homes 300 feet away than the fumes from a 100 sq ft grow.
The modern world is in pain. Modern medical technology and modern society have offered us great benefits, but also left us with a robotic, mechanical approach to health care that does not take the sum of the parts