Please do not move forward with this EIR proposal. The scope is too narrow and the return on investment is not good. This is a waste of taxpayer money. If there were effective methods of mitigating odor from outdoor grows, the cannabis industry would already be using them. Increased setbacks, planting odor-masking plants, and covering outdoor grows are about the only measures you can implement. Save the quarter million dollars and use some common sense. We don’t need Placeworks to tell us what we already know.
Dear Chair Crandell and Members of the Board of Supervisors,
Please see the attached document outlining my concerns regarding the cannabis ordinance update and its connection to the proposed Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
I also want to express my disappointment in how the cannabis ordinance process has been handled—both historically and at present. For years, members of the non-cannabis public have respectfully asked to have their concerns heard and considered. Each time, the Community Development Department (CDD) assured the public that those concerns would be addressed later, after the cannabis industry’s interests had been accommodated. Each time, those assurances were followed by decisions that moved forward without meaningful public input.
At each update to the Board, residents again raised these concerns, and CDD again promised that there would be additional opportunities for public comment. Most recently, CDD stated that the revised ordinances would be presented to both the Planning Commission and the Agricultural Commission before returning to the Board. That has not occurred. Once again, the public’s opportunity to participate has been denied.
I want to thank the Board for attempting to create a balanced Cannabis Ordinance Task Force (COTF) to ensure that all segments of our community were represented. It was an honorable and fair-minded effort. Unfortunately, that spirit and intent were never realized.
I would also urge the Board to reflect carefully before offering accolades for the COTF’s “hard work.” The record speaks differently:
In 2023, roughly a third of meetings were cancelled for lack of quorum.
In 2024, nearly half were cancelled.
In 2025, almost all meetings were cancelled for the same reason.
With respect, that is not evidence of hard work; over half the COTF not bothering to show up is evidence of disengagement. In contrast, many members of the public—who were non-voting participants—attended virtually every meeting over nearly three years, despite having no obligation to do so. They did so out of genuine concern for the County and the hope that their voices might finally be heard.
I respectfully ask the Board to take this opportunity to reset the process—to ensure that future decisions on cannabis policy are inclusive, transparent, and accountable to the entire community, not just to one sector of it. Lake County deserves a process that listens as well as it legislates. Thank you for your time and for your continued service to the residents of Lake County.
Please do not move forward with this EIR proposal. The scope is too narrow and the return on investment is not good. This is a waste of taxpayer money. If there were effective methods of mitigating odor from outdoor grows, the cannabis industry would already be using them. Increased setbacks, planting odor-masking plants, and covering outdoor grows are about the only measures you can implement. Save the quarter million dollars and use some common sense. We don’t need Placeworks to tell us what we already know.
Dear Chair Crandell and Members of the Board of Supervisors,
Please see the attached document outlining my concerns regarding the cannabis ordinance update and its connection to the proposed Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
I also want to express my disappointment in how the cannabis ordinance process has been handled—both historically and at present. For years, members of the non-cannabis public have respectfully asked to have their concerns heard and considered. Each time, the Community Development Department (CDD) assured the public that those concerns would be addressed later, after the cannabis industry’s interests had been accommodated. Each time, those assurances were followed by decisions that moved forward without meaningful public input.
At each update to the Board, residents again raised these concerns, and CDD again promised that there would be additional opportunities for public comment. Most recently, CDD stated that the revised ordinances would be presented to both the Planning Commission and the Agricultural Commission before returning to the Board. That has not occurred. Once again, the public’s opportunity to participate has been denied.
I want to thank the Board for attempting to create a balanced Cannabis Ordinance Task Force (COTF) to ensure that all segments of our community were represented. It was an honorable and fair-minded effort. Unfortunately, that spirit and intent were never realized.
I would also urge the Board to reflect carefully before offering accolades for the COTF’s “hard work.” The record speaks differently:
In 2023, roughly a third of meetings were cancelled for lack of quorum.
In 2024, nearly half were cancelled.
In 2025, almost all meetings were cancelled for the same reason.
With respect, that is not evidence of hard work; over half the COTF not bothering to show up is evidence of disengagement. In contrast, many members of the public—who were non-voting participants—attended virtually every meeting over nearly three years, despite having no obligation to do so. They did so out of genuine concern for the County and the hope that their voices might finally be heard.
I respectfully ask the Board to take this opportunity to reset the process—to ensure that future decisions on cannabis policy are inclusive, transparent, and accountable to the entire community, not just to one sector of it. Lake County deserves a process that listens as well as it legislates. Thank you for your time and for your continued service to the residents of Lake County.
Sincerely,
Thomas Lajcik