Mendocino Zoning Administrator approves 50-foot setback for Secada Ag LLC cannabis nursery

Russ Ford, acting zoning administrator for Mendocino County, approved an administrative permit on May 8 to allow Secada Ag LLC to reduce the required setback for cannabis cultivation from 100 feet to 50 feet along the eastern property line of an adjacent parcel.

Jamie Henry, project planner, told the zoning administrator the request would allow placement of one of three new greenhouses and associated support infrastructure used for nursery operations on a roughly 10-acre parcel zoned Upland Residential (UR-20) and designated Remote Residential by the county general plan. Henry said the cultivation site includes 14 greenhouses totaling 9,240 square feet of mixed-light cultivation, an existing single-family residence, water tanks, a shop and other accessory structures.

Henry said no grading or vegetation removal was proposed and that the request meets the other relevant setback and zoning standards. She cited Mendocino County Zoning Code chapter 20.242 as the code section that allows a reduction to a 50-foot setback through the administrative permit process, and she recommended approval with conditions. "I recommend approval of this administrative permit with conditions," Henry said.

County staff noted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the property as within the historical range of the endangered Baker's lupine but found a low likelihood of presence because of past site use, existing grazing and the lack of vegetation removal. Fish and Wildlife advised that botanical surveys should be conducted if future development occurs beyond the scope of the current project.

Henry said the Mendocino County Cannabis Department provided comments and that compliance with conditions will be verified at the time of license renewal. She told the zoning administrator the project qualified for a categorical exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), citing CEQA Section 15305 (minor alterations in land use limitations related to setbacks), and that the setback adjustment would not result in environmental impacts based on the staff report's evidence and findings.

With no applicant or public commenters present, Ford said he would open and close the public hearing and then approved the permit, finding the project categorically exempt and subject to the facts, findings and conditions in the staff report.

The approval is limited to the administrative permit and does not itself grant or replace any required cultivation business license or other permits that the applicant must obtain before commercial operations.