Page 8 - Sonoma County Gazette November 2018

8 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 11/18
CANNABIS cont’d from page 1
What is going on with cannabis in Sonoma County?
Sonoma County has received a total of 222 cannabis applications since they began accepting applications in July 2017. 43 have withdrawn. 26 have been approved. 18 of those approved have been through the Ag Department for 10,000sf or under of outdoor canopy. 8 approved permits from Permit Sonoma, 5 of which are dispensaries. 114 Use Permits are pending under Permit Sonoma. 0 Use Permits Issued.
What is a Use Permit?
A Use Permit application is required for development projects that are typically more intensive than Permitted Uses. Use Permit applications often require a public hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustments and/or Board of Supervisors. Use Permits are discretionary in nature, and, if approved, will include conditions of approval. Any cultivation over 10,000sf outdoors requires a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in Sonoma County.
Cannabis operators have the most stringent rules of any plant or product sold in Sonoma County and the entire state. For the permitting process operators are required to submit the following documents and professional studies:
How rigorous is the Use Permit process?
● Wastewater Management Plan
● Sediment & Erosion Plan
● Permit or Waiver from CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife for Streambed
Alteration
● Hazardous Materials Plan
● Integrated Pest Management Plan
● Biological Resources Report
● Stormwater Management Plan
● Groundwater Monitoring Plan
● Fire Safety Plan
● Traffic Study, Noise Study, Odor Study, Cultural Study (when applicable)
How costly is the Use Permit process?
Many applicants have been in this process for over 15 months. Not a
single CUP issued yet. The barrier of entry is high in Sonoma and the cost is burdensome for many small farmers. Consultants and service provider fees for the above stated requirements are the most costly. The county application fee alone for a 10,000sf Greenhouse CUP is over $15,000. Most applicants in Sonoma County have spent tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on application fees and associated permitting costs and studies.
Farms can only grow up to one acre of cannabis. The county restricts growing methods further (see cannabis land use table) and many parcels are limited below the one acre cap. For example on a 15-acre Diverse Ag parcel the largest greenhouse you can grow is 10,000sf. There’s no such thing as massive large scale multi-acre cultivation sites in Sonoma County. Of the 27 pending Ag permits it only totals to under 6 acres of cannabis cultivation. As of 11/16, the minimum parcel size for any cultivation will be 10 acres.
Cannabis operators must give the county 24/7 easement access to wells. Water wells used for cultivation shall be equipped with a meter and sounding tube or other water level sounding device and marked with a measuring reference point. Groundwater monitoring reports shall be submitted annually to Permit Sonoma. Operators must also report annual water usage to the State Water Resources Control Board.
On July 1st of this year new mandatory testing regulations went into effect in California and required that all cannabis products undergo stringent testing for pesticides and other contaminants such as feces, mold, and insect and rodent parts prior to sale. Testing standards are down to the Parts Per Billion. In December, another round of regulations will take effect targeting mycotoxins and heavy metals, as well as testing to determine terpene profiles.
What are the limitations on cultivation in SoCo?
How will cannabis water usage be monitored?
How strict is cannabis pesticide use and testing?
If a product batch fails twice, operators will be required to destroy the entire batch with proof. Operators will not be able to use any type of harmful or toxic pesticides in any way. Cannabis testing standards are the most stringent of any agricultural or food product in the state.
CANNABIS cont’d on page 11