Trinity County Planning Commission continues Shady Creek cannabis appeal, orders corrected administrative record

The Trinity County Planning Commission on July 23 voted to continue an appeal of the cannabis division director's approval for a 5,000-square-foot specialty outdoor cultivation license on Shady Creek Lane and directed staff to return with a corrected and complete administrative record.

"I move to continue the appeal . . . to a future planning commission meeting and direct staff to return with a complete and corrected administrative report record," Commissioner Harper said as part of a motion that enumerated specific steps for staff, including identifying controlling project plans and reconciling revisions across reports, maps and agency correspondence. The motion also asked staff to "resolve the discrepancy regarding cultivation water storage by identifying the correct number of capacity, location of all water tanks, and amount required for fire protection" and to include all documents relied upon for the original approval.

Commission discussion before the vote focused on whether to set a date-certain for the continued hearing and on staff capacity to produce the requested corrections. The commission agreed that additional clarification was necessary "before it can determine whether the required findings are supported by substantial evidence," and the continuance passed on a 4-1 vote.

The commission's motion directed staff to review whether any post-approval plan changes were clerical or constituted project modifications and whether those changes required additional environmental review. Chair remarks and staff input emphasized that the county's role in reviewing the application is to assess consistency with zoning and the EIR, while state agencies retain authority over certain water diversion and fish-and-wildlife compliance matters.

Next steps: staff will prepare the corrected administrative record and return the item to the Planning Commission at a future meeting, per the motion.