At its next meeting Tuesday, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will consider two items designed to support both “cannabis-related activities” and the ongoing recovery of the Redwood Valley community following the devastating wildfires of 2017.
According to the staff report for the first item, “the proposed project is the rezone of multiple parcels to create a combining district or overlay to support cannabis-related activities and allow continued operation of eligible existing sites within the Redwood Valley Community planning area of no more than 2,500 square feet of cannabis. Continued operation of these small existing farms engenders development of ancillary improvements such as temporary and permanent greenhouses and do not increase rural dwelling densities.”
The report describes all of the parcels as “located in the Rural Residential (RR) zoning district and allow residential use by right,” and describes “commercial cannabis cultivation as continuing to to play a pivotal role as a socio-economic driver in Redwood Valley (and) a critical source of income and stability for the community.”
The report describes the Oct. 8, 2017, fire as burning “for 123 days and destroying 36,523 acres across Mendocino County. Google Earth aerial imagery accessed via the internet four months after the county adopted the Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance indicates that 79 percent of the parcels within the proposed district engaged in some level of outdoor cannabis cultivation activities, and many established operations within the proposed district were completely destroyed by the fire. If approved, this rezone request will create a compliant pathway allowing residents to generate revenue to replace structures that have been lost due to years of catastrophic wildfire in the area.”
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