Page 12 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

12 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/18
They did not have the option of going to a bank and getting a loan. There
is no financial banking support for this industry. So most people were left with a bad choice: but to shut down entirely, or to take money from outside investors, with all the pressures and greatly lowered cash flow that results. Large agricultural properties are very expensive. Industrial properties are
not only very limited, they became extremely costly almost overnight - now
up to $6.00 per square foot in the county! The permitting process costs tens of thousands of dollars in Sonoma County. Many cultivators took the leap and moved to Diverse Ag (DA) zoned properties, as those were the most flexible and appropriate for cultivation. CANNABIS cont’d on page 13
CANNABIS cont’d from page 1
who don’t have a permit, but operate like any other legitimate, tax-paying business. And now, as of January 1, 2018, we have the regulated market. The regulations aim to eliminate black market problems, bring operators into the regulated market, and as a result, increase public safety and economic gains for municipalities and the State.
No one can deny that cannabis is intricately woven into the fabric of our community. It has been growing in the shadows of Sonoma County for decades. From these shadows came a rush of jobs, cash flow, and culture that has provided not only an economic boost, but longer-term economic stability in our County.
Economic History - Regulate and Tax - We Win and Lose
Cannabis brought positive impacts to Sonoma County and the State, but there were consequences to having an all-cash, self-regulated industry mixed deeply into our communities.
Sonoma County was at a crossroads. It could continue to let the sheriff and code enforcement try to keep black market operations in check, using taxpayer money, or, it could create a heavily regulated system, tax it, and let the bad actors eliminate themselves. Sonoma chose the latter.
Where ere the Growers?
We keep hearing that there are 5,000+ cultivators in Sonoma county, but with only 150 applications submitted you can’t help but wonder, where are the growers? How are they surviving and paying their bills?
The answer is that they are right up the street from you. They are the family that grew a small indoor cultivation in their garage, or the nice young couple around the corner that grew alongside their food garden. Or they are the man that kept to himself that lived at the end of the block. They are your neighbors.
For decades, most of our County’s cannabis has been grown in Rural Residential (RR) and Agriculture Residential (AR) land zones, where many homes are. Growers had small gardens abundantly scattered across the county, and oftentimes cannabis served as that second job, that brought in additional
However, all of this came to a halt in December of 2016. The Board
of Supervisors, with pressure from a surprisingly few neighborhood representatives, decided to remove RR/AR zones from the zoning that would allow very small cottage gardens. This went against the months of work and recommendations of staff and the Planning Commission to allow these very small cultivations in RR/AR. Cottage cultivation is 500sf, or 25 plants.
In one fell swoop, the vast majority of growers were disqualified from any chance to participate in the regulated market. For many this was a sudden
loss of their livelihoods. Farms all over the County, some that had sustained families for generations, became worthless overnight. All of the the excitement about joining the regulated market turned to devastation and fear.
income for these folks during economic hardship, a housing crisis, their child’s need for braces, or a better school.
county special is the craft, family cannabis farmers that produced high quality medicine for local dispensaries and greater California. Sonoma had something very special. Key word: had.
Of course there were, and still are, bigger farms in this county. But what has truly made Sonoma
What Options Did Growers Have?
Some growers began to scramble. Some sold is their property to move somewhere with the right zoning. Some sold their company. Some merged with other growers, and many had to take outside investment money.