Re: Support for Highland Farms appeal AB24-02

Dear Board of Supervisors,

I am a Lake County 4H community leader. The Highland Springs watershed and surrounding area provides a safe and clean environment for the youth and families of our community to explore, play and learn. Hiking, celebrating a birthday, playing frisbee golf, kayaking, horseback riding, or just enjoying the outdoors are a few of the wonderful activities offered by this beautiful area.. Do we really want more traffic, and the likely pollutants associated with this commercial farm, operating in this important watershed area? There are very few easily accessible areas like this in our community. It would be a shame for the people of our community to lose one of the great benefits to living in our community.

Thank you,

Pauline Biron
Lake County Resident

Dear Board of Supervisors,

I am writing in support of Highland Farms Appeal AB24-02.

I know from experience that people working on a commercial grow drive faster and are more reckless than the neighbors who make the area their home. It is not so much about cannabis as about not being invested in the neighborhood like they would if they lived there. I also feel that the groundwater extraction proposed by this operation can adversely affect area farmers growing food for local consumption, which as you know, is vital for our County.

I take my grandkids and friends to Highland Springs regularly. We enjoy kayaking, swimming, picnicking, and the clean air there! There aren't many safe areas in Lake County to take your bikes as a family, much less play disc golf, or have access to a body of clean water for free! Our County wants to attract tourist dollars and provide access to its natural beauty for all inhabitants. This has been mentioned loud and clear at all the General Plan meetings. To jeopardize these things at the expense of a commercial activity that has already reached market saturation is absurd.

The increased traffic on this narrow road, the erosion of sensitive soil, and the negative impact from cannabis odors will affect recreation and the environment substantially. Please reconsider the permit. I am hopeful they can find another location more suitable for their enterprise.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Cornelia Sieber-Davis
Lake County Resident, District 4

From: Lucinda Wilson <lwilson@saber.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 12:32
To: Thrive95453@outlook.com <Thrive95453@outlook.com>
Cc: lucinda Wilson <lwilson@saber.net>
Subject: Highland Farms appeal public comment
Public Comment re: Highland Farms Appeal/ BOS meeting January 14, 2025
I first wrote a public comment in opposition to the Highland Farms project and in support of the appeal on
its approval on August 11, 2024. Everything I said in that comment still holds. I live adjacent to an
approved cannabis project and have experience with odor problems affecting our quality of life and the
seeming inability of the CDD to help us. The Highland Farms project is too close to a valuable county
asset which is the Highland Springs Recreation Area and I don’t have confidence that the County of Lake
has the resources or determination to make sure that the serpentine on the property is handled properly
nor does the county have the necessary tools and processes in place to adequately monitor the existing
cannabis projects in our county, much less one of this size and this location.
My concern has increased as I have observed the handling of this appeal. I understand the need to be
even-handed in dealing with all parties involved. However, I have had a growing sense of unease that
there is behind the scenes dealing to make the project more amenable after Planning Commission
approval which doesn’t seem proper and may be the cause of the delays in the appeal. These delays are
very hard on the appellants, who are not a large company but concerned residents of the area. It also
makes it very hard for concerned citizens who are trying to monitor the issue while still going about daily
lives. Please grant the appeal and withdraw approval of the Highland Farms project. Then let’s focus on
getting good processes in place so that we as a county are prepared to make sound decisions on
commercial cannabis projects without risking our quality of life.
Thank you for your attention.
Lucinda Wilson
1490 Bell Hill Rd

For months this appeal has been denied due process while the applicant’s received multiple opportunities for do-overs. Rather than feel the concerns of our community are heard, business profiteers who do not live here and come only to reap whatever profit they can extract from our resources receive the support we’re asking for. Those of us who contribute to our communities through our businesses and taxes throughout the years would like to feel represented. Many of us have noted in great detail concerns with the environmental and safety aspects of this planned cannabis operation. Although the applicant has had multiple opportunities to amend their proposal, huge concerns continue to exist, such as fire and safety on Highland Springs Road. One summer a speeding car hit my husband's truck head on. The attending officer said he was lucky he wasn’t driving a car. Speed is never monitored out here even though I've spoken to your Board about these concerns, most particularly after one accident where two young teenage girls were speeding and hit a tree on the blind corner head on. We've also had speeding cars take out the bank of mailboxes for our neighborhood. The officer who came out acknowledged the burned-out tire tracks which clearly showed how a vehicle had hit them and told me I was welcome to file a report, but that nothing would come of it as none of the agencies have the staff to support it. We've come before your Board requesting additional patrol out here and have been told it isn't possible. During one intense fire season another car speeding around after midnight crashed into a dry area and caused a fire right near a neighbor's home. Highland Springs Park proper was without a caretaker for the good part of a year, and people took full advantage of the absence. Even now, the gate is only partially managed. Twenty years of living in this neighborhood has given us tremendous knowledge of the challenges we face out here. How much concern do we need to express for it to make a difference? Your constituents would appreciate as much opportunity to be heard and supported as CDD has either intentionally or misguidedly given to the applicant. At some point, people are going to ask, 'why would I want to live here?' And what does that leave us as a community? All cannabis all the time is not an economic development strategy. It is not community development.