Board debates rewrite of cannabis buffer‑reduction rules; staff to return with revised ordinance language

At its April 1 meeting the Trinity County Board of Supervisors held the first reading of an ordinance to amend county code related to commercial cannabis cultivation (Trinity County Code sections 17.43 and 17.32). The proposed changes would alter how the county handles administrative buffer‑reduction (ABR) requests when neighboring property owners file opposition.

Drew Pobani, director of the county’s cannabis division, told the board that the draft changes were prompted by a Planning Commission appeal in which staff found the current code’s process left little room for a fact‑based planning commission review. Under the proposal presented to the board, a qualified opposition letter from an affected neighbor would prompt a hearing before the Planning Commission rather than an automatic administrative denial by staff. Pobani said the change was intended…