Lake County supervisors hear update on cannabis ordinance task force; dispute centers on farmland protection zone expansion

Mireya Turner, Lake County's community development director, told the Board of Supervisors on Monday that the county's cannabis ordinance task force is still finalizing a set of recommendations meant to update local rules and align county practice with state regulations.

The update, presented by Turner and senior planner Mary Clabaugh, covered dozens of topics the task force has discussed since December 2024 and highlighted a handful of remaining items for further work. Key outstanding topics include: procedures for closing out incomplete or abandoned permit applications, aligning inactive-application timelines with the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), records-retention methods, operational hours and noise, odors and setbacks from residences, onsite use of RVs, farm labor contractor registration, the county's October 31, 2020 notice-of-applicability cutoff, the county's 2019 cap of 12 cannabis-related permit submissions per month, methods for calculating canopy, and the potential for site reclamation bonds.

Why it matters: the recommendations would change how the county accepts and manages cannabis cultivation, processing and retail sites and could affect dozens of existing projects and pending applications. Staff emphasized the item was informational; no ordinance language is in effect and any change would require a formal ordinance process with additional public hearings.

Turner and Clabaugh said staff would like to adopt several state-aligned practices. They recommended adding a local process to deem applications inactive if there has been no applicant correspondence for 180 days, matching a DCC threshold described in the meeting. Clabaugh said the county currently has approximately 60 to 70 pending cannabis use permits and estimated that roughly half of those would be closed if the county applied the DCC inactive-application practice. She also said the county has received just three cannabis permit submissions in the past four months and does not currently hit the 12-per-month cap established by a 2019 county ordinance.

On records, staff noted that the county requires seven years of records retention but has observed growers attempting to retain metric tags for every plant for seven years. Clabaugh said the department wants to allow electronic recordkeeping aligned with state practice and avoid requiring growers to store physical tags on-site.

Odor and setbacks. Under current Lake County Zoning Ordinance Article 27, Clabaugh said, outdoor cultivation must be set back 100 feet from the property line and 200 feet from off-site residences. Staff reported public concern about odors and said enforcement currently requires multiple complainants before odor can be declared a nuisance.

Farm labor, RVs and inspections. Staff recommended requiring on-site posting of the local farm labor contractor registration so inspectors can verify third-party contractors are properly registered. They also said recreational vehicles used as temporary offices are not allowed unless a temporary dwelling permit and building permit are in place. On compliance monitoring, the task force recommends annual inspections for a permit's first five years, then every other year if the site remains in good standing; a transfer of ownership would restart the 0-to-5-year inspection cycle.

Canopy, reclamation bonds and other technical items. Clabaugh described a push to clarify how canopy is defined and measured on site plans so permitted canopy is calculated consistently. The task force also discussed site reclamation bonds for locations that would need restoration after a permit expires or an operation is abandoned, and how to limit long-term generator use while ensuring emission and noise standards are met.

The most contested recommendation discussed was whether to expand the county's Farmland Protection Zone (FPZ). Currently, the FPZ was mapped using certain local areas and soil classifications; task force members debated including a broader set of soil categories the state identifies as prime, unique, local and statewide importance. Turner said the expanded definition would substantially increase the area designated as the FPZ; the task force also considered allowing hoop houses instead of only fully enclosed greenhouses in FPZ areas to reduce permanent foundations that can impair future agricultural use.

Industry and public response. Representatives of the Lake County Cannabis Alliance (LCCA) and individual cultivators urged the board and staff to avoid measures that would make existing lawful operations nonconforming or prohibit commercial diversification by landowners. Nora Dalbaga, president of the LCCA and an industry representative on the task force, told the board the association opposes the FPZ expansion, saying it could adversely affect dozens of licensed farms. Industry speakers said cannabis conducts at lower acreage-per-acre footprints than many other crops and argued that licensed operations reduce illegal growing.

Community groups and residents urged a different balance. Speakers from the Community Action Project and other public commenters raised health and nuisance concerns tied to outdoor cultivation'related odors and terpenes and asked the county to preserve important farmland and protect nearby residents. Several speakers asked for more transparency and for county counsel to respond to questions about conflicts of interest and rules of order for the task force.

County officials and staff clarified process boundaries. Turner and board members repeatedly noted the task force's work is advisory; no recommendation is in force until staff drafts ordinance language that goes through the planning commission and the board and completes required noticing and waiting periods. Treasurer-Tax Collector Patrick Sullivan described practical challenges county offices face when property ownership and operating entities are organized through multiple corporate layers; he and others said adding clearer landowner acknowledgement in applications would help tax and enforcement offices understand who is ultimately liable for a site.

The board closed the informational item without taking legislative action. Supervisors and staff agreed the task force remains active; staff estimated that, if quorum and meeting frequency were maintained, the task force could finish its recommendations in roughly four to six weeks and then move into drafting ordinance language and the formal hearing process.

Ending note: multiple speakers urged the board to address task-force quorum and membership so the panel can complete its work. Staff said the task force will continue meeting, the county will continue to solicit input, and any draft ordinance will be publicly noticed and subject to further hearings before the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors.