7. 21-319 9:35 a.m. Public Hearing to take place on Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 9:35 a.m. in the Lake County Courthouse. Applicant/Owner: WeGrow LLC / Zarina Otchkova. Proposed Project: Fifteen (15) A-Type 3B mixed light commercial cannabis cultivation licenses; one (1) A-Type 1C 'specialty cottage' (greenhouse) license, and one A-Type 13 'Self Distribution' license. The applicant is proposing thirty (30) 90' x 125' greenhouses; one (1) 90' x 112' greenhouse; four (4) 90' x 125' nursery greenhouses; four (4) 50' x 100' drying buildings; one (1) 200 sq. ft. shed; four (4) 2,500 gallon water tanks; one (1) 6-foot tall galvanized woven wire fence covered with privacy mesh to screen the greenhouses from public view. Total proposed cultivation area is 400,405 sq. ft. (roughly 9 acres). Location: 16750 Herrington Road, Middletown, CA (cultivation site); 17610 Sandy Road, Middletown, and 19678 Stinson Road, Middletown consisting of 309+ acres. APNs: 013-060-40 (cultivation site); 013-014-03 and 013-014-11. Environmental Evaluation: Mitigated Negative Declaration IS 20-25.
I am writing as a neutral party who served for 7 years as a planning commissioner in the Bay Area. My rule as a commissioner when we had a project with neighborhood concerns was to follow the planning code and assure that mitigations were satisfactory to meet neighborhood concerns. This project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan, Middletown Area Plan, the applicable Zoning Ordinance standards and is outside of any exclusion zones. Compliance with these rules and regulations is critical because months, and often years, went into crafting each of those guiding documents, which included extensive public comment, input and debate. In reviewing the comment letters, this applicant has addressed concerns about adequate water supplies, available power, traffic, odor and visual impact.
I ask that you take a step back from permitting the cannabis project before you today and take a deeper look at the biological field studies. They are incomplete in that the one-day site visit does not encompass the diversity of the bird species, especially addressing migratory birds (birds seen in August don’t include those here in February). Nor does it address their food chain (insects) and habitat needs (cavities, shrub, grasses). The data on long-term cannabis and wildlife is not out to explore yet. – oaks are so valuable to more than birds. Removing one oak is harmful, removing hundreds of oaks could be devastating. Choose to save the oaks woodlands species for the birds, and our future of a quality life in Lake County.
I was the listing real estate agent when the current owner bought the property. The gently sloped bench where most of the greenhouses will be located was hidden from almost all neighboring properties. The project has adequate water and power available, is outside of any exclusion zones, and the applicant has agreed to use filtered structures to mitigate odor issues. I know this has resulted in concerns from neighbors, but much of this seems based on rumors and inadequate information. With this many neighbors to please, I'm sure the Planning Commission would receive pushback if the owners proposed a church or a school. I don't see any reason why the applicant should be denied the use of their property if they obey odor mitigation measures.
I am writing as a neutral party who served for 7 years as a planning commissioner in the Bay Area. My rule as a commissioner when we had a project with neighborhood concerns was to follow the planning code and assure that mitigations were satisfactory to meet neighborhood concerns. This project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan, Middletown Area Plan, the applicable Zoning Ordinance standards and is outside of any exclusion zones. Compliance with these rules and regulations is critical because months, and often years, went into crafting each of those guiding documents, which included extensive public comment, input and debate. In reviewing the comment letters, this applicant has addressed concerns about adequate water supplies, available power, traffic, odor and visual impact.
I ask that you take a step back from permitting the cannabis project before you today and take a deeper look at the biological field studies. They are incomplete in that the one-day site visit does not encompass the diversity of the bird species, especially addressing migratory birds (birds seen in August don’t include those here in February). Nor does it address their food chain (insects) and habitat needs (cavities, shrub, grasses). The data on long-term cannabis and wildlife is not out to explore yet. – oaks are so valuable to more than birds. Removing one oak is harmful, removing hundreds of oaks could be devastating. Choose to save the oaks woodlands species for the birds, and our future of a quality life in Lake County.
I was the listing real estate agent when the current owner bought the property. The gently sloped bench where most of the greenhouses will be located was hidden from almost all neighboring properties. The project has adequate water and power available, is outside of any exclusion zones, and the applicant has agreed to use filtered structures to mitigate odor issues. I know this has resulted in concerns from neighbors, but much of this seems based on rumors and inadequate information. With this many neighbors to please, I'm sure the Planning Commission would receive pushback if the owners proposed a church or a school. I don't see any reason why the applicant should be denied the use of their property if they obey odor mitigation measures.
Please see the attached document.
https://click.e.change.org/f/a/aUChxaHsr1NU6ZFAGiTTOg~~/AANj1QA~/RgRiYLDkP4QUAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5nZS5vcmcvcC9sYWtlLWNvdW50eS1oZWxsLW5vLXdlLWRvbi10LXdhbnQtYS1ncm93L2Rhc2hib2FyZD9jc190az0mZG93bmxvYWQ9MjIwNzM4ZWYtZGY1Zi00ZDY2LWJiODMtYWJlZGYwOTNjMmQzJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj01MDZjYTNkM2I2ZDU0YWEzOTExMjVjZDI2YTRkMThhYiZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1pbml0aWFsX3YwXzBfMiZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2lnbmF0dXJlc19leHBvcnRfZmluaXNoZWRfc3VjY2VzcyZ1dG1fdGVybT1jc1cDc3BjQgpgeOQrfmCMgpokUh13ZW5kaWNocmlzdG9waGVyc29uQHlhaG9vLmNvbVgEAAAAAg~~