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After hours of testimony, Sonoma County advances parts of cannabis program update while residents press concerns about odor, water and events
Summary
Permit Sonoma and consultants presented a final EIR and proposed code changes to regulate cultivation, processing and visitor-serving activities; the Board approved the cannabis license chapter and took straw votes on setbacks, crop-swap options, minimum parcel sizes, visitor-serving rules, and caps on storefront and delivery uses amid dozens of public commenters raising health and water concerns.
Permit Sonoma staff and environmental consultants delivered a comprehensive presentation of the county's final environmental impact report (EIR) and proposed zoning and general-plan amendments to regulate the cannabis supply chain across unincorporated Sonoma County. The hearing was split into two parts; the Board adopted the cannabis business license chapter (Chapter 4) in this meeting and continued deliberations on other code changes to a December hearing.
"Our EIR looked at a maximum of 208 acres of cannabis being grown in the county," interim Permit Sonoma director Scott Orr told supervisors, highlighting the programmatic scale studied and the mitigation measures the county analyzed. Staff proposed redefining cannabis as "controlled agriculture," creating a county licensing program, a ministerial "crop-swap" pathway for limited conversions of existing farming uses, and new setback and event rules intended to reduce neighborhood conflicts.
Public health and neighborhood concerns dominated public comment. County Health Officer Dr. Karen…
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