Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

MAY 2018
County Budget Hit by Fire ~ 6
Sheriff Candidates Answer Reader Questions ~ 8-11
Human Trafficking - HERE ~ 18
Fragrance & Septic (OWTS)
Live Theater PREVIEW for May ~ 66
Beauty of Vintage Roses ~ 25
Rules are CHANGING ~ 39
Housing
How Much & Where?
Cannabis How Did We Get Here?
By Teri Shore, Greenbelt Alliance In response to the tragic loss of
Can we BUILD Our Way to Affordable Housing?
By Alexa Rae Wall
The cannabis story in Sonoma
homes in the October 2017 fires and the critical need for more affordable homes countywide, a slate of new initiatives to speed up development are coming forward that have the potential to quickly change the face of Sonoma County for decades to come.
County is a hot ticket item. Communities are being divided, and information - true and false
- is spreading through our neighborhoods. So how did we
get here? As a cannabis cultivator, advocate, and community member; I’d like to offer my perspective.
If new policies and plans stay on track with city-centered growth and greenbelt protection, the county
can usher in new era of thriving, affordable neighborhoods in cities and towns near jobs, schools and transit.
Three Markets
If they stray, we could face a generation of scattered development on the urban edge and across the countryside.
First, it’s very important to make a few key distinctions when it comes to the different cannabis markets. “Black market” operators grow illegally and ship their cannabis outside of California, to states where prices are three to four times higher than in California.
That is why we urgently need a rigorous housing conversation that includes all residents to talk about how and where we build new homes for all – and how many we need.
Although many families have supported themselves for years in the black market, over time it has also become responsible for the negative aspects of the industry, for example, crime, high water use, and high pesticide use and abuse. Many of these operators have no intention of joining the state licensed marketplace.
At a recent fire recovery and housing workshop held by the Board of Supervisors, county and city planning officials claimed that we need to build 30,000 new housing units over the next five years.
Then we have the “grey market,” comprised of self-regulated operators
HOUSING cont’d on page 14
CANNABIS cont’d on page 12
Your HOME TOWN NEWS: pgs 30 - 45 EVERYTHING to DO Calendar: pgs 52 - 71
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