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Topic: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RE MORATORIUM

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County Public Notices

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT

REGARDING EXTENSION OF A RECENTLY ADOPTED MORATORIUM PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANY MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE, COOPERATIVE OR DISPENSARY, AS WELL AS THE PROCESSING OF EXISTING APPLICATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SUCH FACILITIES, WITHIN THE UNINCOPORATED AREA OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY.

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 1:30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors’ Chamber, Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 Fifth Street, Eureka, California, to consider the EXTENSION OF A MORATORIUM PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANY MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE COOPERATIVE, OR DISPENSARY, AS WELL AS THE PROCESSING OF EXISTING APPLICATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SUCH FACILITIES WITHIN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY. The 45-day moratorium ordinance was intitially adopted by a unanimous vote of the Board of Supervisors at a public hearing on December 13, 2011. If approved at the January 24th meeting, the moratorium would be extended for an additional ten months and 15 days. A certified copy of the full text of the moratorium ordinance is available in the office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 111, 825 Fifth Street, Eureka, California. Further information regarding this matter may be obtained from the Planning Division of the Humboldt County Community Development Services Department at 3015 H Street, Eureka, California 95501, telephone: (707) 445-7541 (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) Contact Person: Steven Lazar, Planner I, email at slazar@co.humboldt.ca.us

This activity is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to section 15378 and 15060 (c) (2) and (3) of the State CEQA Guidelines.

PROJECT LOCATION: THIS PROJECT WILL APPLY TO ALL UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF THE COUNTY.

Any person may appear and present testimony in regard to this matter at the hearing. If you challenge the nature of the proposed action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the Board of Supervisors, at, or prior to, the public hearing. The staff report for this project will be available on the Board of Supervisors web site as well as:http://www.co.humboldt.ca.us/planning/medical-marijuana.asp<strong< a="">> on the Friday before the Board of Supervisors meeting.</strong<>

Documentation to be filed on this matter for the official record must contain an original and nine (9) copies of each document. Documentation includes, but is not limited to: written correspondence, audio and video tapes, maps, photographs, and petitions. If possible, all documentation is to be submitted to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 111 of the County Courthouse, 825 Fifth Street in Eureka, (476-2384) by noon on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. for the documents to be placed in the Board’s hearing packets. Otherwise, documents must be submitted during the public hearing on January 24, 2012. Failure to submit nine copies will result in the document(s) not being placed in the official public hearing record.

January 5, 2012
Kathy Hayes
Clerk of the Board
1/12/2012 (12-16)

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Re: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RE MORATORIUM

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_19794363

Supervisors to look at extending marijuana dispensary moratorium; local dispensaries frustrated with continuance

Megan Hansen/Times-Standard
Posted: 01/22/2012 02:19:18 AM PST

A temporary moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries in the county will likely be extended Tuesday during the afternoon session of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting.
The 45-day temporary moratorium was initially approved by the board on Dec. 13 in response to a recent crackdown by the federal government.

Deputy County Counsel Davina Smith said the legal landscape hasn't changed much since the moratorium was first approved.

”We're still kind of in legal limbo,” Smith said. “We think we should continue to go forward with the moratorium.”

Smith said cities and counties are now looking to the California Supreme Court for answers. She said the court has taken on three cases, including the Pack vs. Superior Court case, to see whether local governments can regulate marijuana dispensaries. Pack alleged federal law -- which marks marijuana as an illegal substance -- pre-empted the city of Long Beach's right to regulate marijuana in the state.
The California Supreme Court agreed last Wednesday to review how cities and counties regulate marijuana dispensaries. Smith said the court will likely address issues surrounding Proposition 215 and state Senate Bill 420.

”It looks like, perhaps, the Supreme Court is looking to settle the issue,” Smith said.

Not everyone believes the county's marijuana dispensary moratorium should continue while the Supreme Court examines the various cases.

Humboldt Patient Dispensary Alliance President Andre Carey said he's been trying to open a new dispensary since late 2010. Now his paperwork is halted within the permitting process.

”It's frustrating,” Carey said. “I don't see it changing in the near future.”

He said it's a good thing he and his business partner have other jobs or else they'd be in a world of hurt waiting on their new business to be approved. He said they're even considering withdrawing their application.

”We're probably into it with $5,000,” Carey said, adding that $2,000 of that has been spent trying to get a permit.

He said it's discouraging that the supervisors are unwilling to stand up for medical marijuana patients.
Nathan Johns, director of the Hummingbird Healing Center in Eureka, agreed. He said it's a shame that all of the county's hard work to get an ordinance in place governing how dispensaries should operate is going to waste.

”We need them to stand up for us,” Johns said. “They've spent so many hours trying to figure this out.”
Johns said he's especially concerned for his business and other county dispensaries because they're currently permitted under conditional use permits and will have to reapply for permits in the future. He said there needs to be additional specific language in the moratorium ordinance protecting businesses that are already permitted.

”They would be shutting down the current ones, once the conditional use permits are up,” Johns said.
The moratorium ordinance currently states that “facilities may continue to operate under the terms of their existing conditional use permits until such time as the permits expire or are otherwise terminated.”
While the moratorium is in place, Smith said, the county is still working to craft an ordinance for outdoor medical marijuana cultivation that would apply to personal use.

The supervisors will also hear a presentation at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday from representatives of the Child Care Data Advocacy Group on the importance of child care providers as they relate to the growth of local businesses, the workforce and economy.

.... For the complete meeting agenda and supporting documents, visit online at www.co.humboldt.ca.us/
board/agenda/questys/.

IF YOU GO:

What: Board of Supervisors meeting
Where: Supervisors Chamber, first floor, Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 Fifth St.
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday
Megan Hansen can be reached at 441-0511 or mhansen@times-standard.com.

  • Registered: 2007-09-11
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Re: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING RE MORATORIUM

http://www.times-standard.com/ci_198165 … ost_viewed

Humboldt supervisors extend marijuana dispensary moratorium. discuss future outdoor medical marijuana growing ordinance

Megan Hansen/Times-Standard
Posted: 01/25/2012 02:09:26 AM PST

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to extend a temporary moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries for an additional 10 months and 15 days. The supervisors also added language to the ordinance that is meant to protect existing dispensaries from closure.

Assistant County Counsel Carolyn Ruth said there are currently three medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the county. The Humboldt County Collective has a conditional use permit with no time limit, Redwood Legacy LLC has a two-year permit and the Hummingbird Healing Center has a one-year permit. Ruth said the moratorium's extension will affect the Hummingbird Healing Center.

”Their permit would expire during the moratorium,” Ruth said.

Fifth District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said he was concerned that the initial moratorium passed on Dec. 13 didn't allow dispensaries to reapply for their permits.

”There are really, really sick people who use this to make them feel
better,” Sundberg said.

Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace said those dispensaries already in business shouldn't be penalized by the moratorium.

”It would be unfair to allow the clock to run out on them,” Lovelace said.

The board-added language states that the three established dispensaries have the right to apply for a new conditional use permit if their permit expires during the moratorium. The board specified that the county Planning Commission shouldn't take the moratorium into consideration when reviewing a permit for an already existing dispensary.

Humboldt County Counsel Wendy Chaitin said this doesn't mean that the Planning Commission is obligated to approve a dispensary's request for an updated permit.

Staff with the county counsel's office said the moratorium is the safest legal course of action in an atmosphere where it's still unclear whether cities and counties can regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. Deputy County Counsel Davina Smith said all eyes are now on the California Supreme Court, which agreed last week to review whether federal law pre-empts local jurisdictions.

”They plan to deliver some direction,” Smith said.

Hummingbird Healing Center board of directors member Carla Ritter was one of five speakers against the moratorium. She said three-quarters of their patients don't grow their own medical marijuana and would be without a supplier if the dispensary closed.

”What would you do if you were crippled by arthritis?” Ritter asked. “We are here to beg you to continue safe access to our patients.”

Alison Sterling Nichols, executive director of the Humboldt Growers Association and the Emerald Growers Association, said the board shouldn't enact a moratorium while the Supreme Court is reviewing the issue.
”Proposition 215 was passed 15 years ago, and another year is going to fly by with this,” Sterling Nichols said.

Smith said a decision is expected within the next 12 to 18 months. In the meantime, she said, the county is vulnerable to legal action.

Humboldt County Administrative Officer Phillip Smith-Hanes said the county is working to make progress on an ordinance that would govern outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana for personal use. Smith-Hanes said the board directed county staff to create an ordinance similar to one used in Mendocino County, until it was revoked Tuesday under pressure from the federal government. He said both Mendocino and Humboldt counties are now looking at a registration-based ordinance, similar to one used in Tehama County.

”It seems like the Tehama County ordinance would stand up to legal scrutiny,” Smith-Hanes said.

Smith-Hanes said county staff are ready to draft some legal language for the proposed ordinance, which would likely come before the board in March for public comment and again in May for decisions about fees and other details. Supervisors directed county staff to try and expedite the process and, at Sundberg's request, to see if there are interim measures that could be put in place to keep outdoor grows from becoming a public nuisance.   

First District Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith said county staff need to meet with the county's budget sub-committee and sheriff's office to discuss budget limitations and enforcement. Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey said he needs to know whether this ordinance is going to be mainly enforced by the sheriff's office or code enforcement department as it will affect his budget and staffing.

Megan Hansen can be reached at 441-0511 or mhansen@times-standard.com.