Mendocino zoning administrator approves administrative permit to exempt dwelling requirement for Laytonville cannabis site

The Mendocino County Zoning Administrator approved an administrative permit on Sept. 11, 2025, allowing a licensed cannabis cultivation operation on a 27-acre parcel near Laytonville to remain exempt from the county's dwelling-unit requirement.

Shelby Miller, presenting on behalf of project planner Jamie Henry, told the Zoning Administrator the project site is at 46717 Road 307, approximately 1.8 miles north of the Laytonville town center on the east side of U.S. 101, and is identified as Assessor's Parcel Number 01320058.

Miller said the parcel already hosts cultivation infrastructure and cited a prior 2018 administrative permit that similarly exempted the parcel from constructing a dwelling. "The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under section 15061, which is the common sense clause," Miller said, and staff recommended approval with conditions in the resolution.

According to the staff presentation, the parcel is about 27 acres and has an established building envelope with an approved septic system for potential future residential use. Existing site improvements listed by staff include 12 hoop houses, a structure for immature plants, three cargo containers for drying and storage, two wells, a PG&E power box, a septic system, solar panels, and seven water tanks (one dedicated to fire suppression). The parcel is zoned RR-10 (10-acre minimum), and staff concluded the proposed administrative permit would be consistent with the RR general plan classification and zoning district.

There were no public speakers online or in the hearing room. Before approving the permit, the Zoning Administrator noted one minor edit to the recommended conditions: striking the word "working" from the second sentence of condition 1 so the appeal period to the Board of Supervisors is measured in calendar days, not working days. The Zoning Administrator said, "I agree that the project is exempt from CEQA, and I'm going to approve this project subject to the findings and the conditions with the modification to condition 1." The motion was recorded as approved; no separate roll-call votes were taken and no public objections were recorded.

Staff recorded the project as exempt from CEQA under Section 15061 and recommended the administrative permit be approved with the conditions noted in the resolution. The hearing was brief: the applicant was not present, there were no public comments, and the Zoning Administrator adjourned the meeting shortly after the approval.

The approval updates the administrative-permit record (AP 2025-0016) for the parcel, capturing the current site improvements and the revised site plan as described by staff. Any appeal of the decision must follow the calendar-day appeal period reflected in the corrected condition 1.