Lake County supervisors direct staff to draft updated cannabis ordinance, emphasize water and odor controls

The Lake County Board of Supervisors reviewed a summary of recommended updates to the county’s cannabis land‑use rules and instructed staff to begin drafting a revised ordinance that prioritizes water‑use analysis, stronger odor controls and better alignment with state regulations.

Community Development Director Maria Turner presented the report, saying the recommendations come from two recent cannabis ordinance task force meetings and comments from the Planning Commission and the public. “We will bring back a vetted draft ordinance for you by the end of this calendar year,” Turner told the board.

Turner and staff recommended a set of technical and process changes: require hydrology studies for projects that propose surface or groundwater use; standardize canopy measurement to match recent state methodology; add a voluntary surrender procedure so a permittee may terminate a use permit; synchronize ownership‑identification requirements with state licensing to help the treasurer’s office; consider setbacks between hemp and cannabis canopy; and consider whether revocation recommendations should go directly to the Board of Supervisors rather than begin with the Planning Commission. The staff report noted the state requires a $5,000 site‑reclamation bond and the task force was amenable to including the same minimum in county rules; the Planning Commission later recommended the county consider a higher bond (the commission cited $50,000).

The report also described permit processing workload: staff said there are 65 pending…