FAIRFIELD — The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider the first marijuana cultivation ordinance in Solano County history, regulating personal medical and recreational uses, as well as setting caregiver standards.
“What we are saying is any zoning that allows a house (will) allow the cultivation of cannabis for personal or caregiver uses,” Mike Yankovich, planning manager for the Department of Resource Management, said in a phone interview Friday.
A public hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. in the first-floor board chamber of the government center, 675 Texas St., in Fairfield.
Yankovich said Supervisors John Vasquez and Erin Hannigan are expected to report about their findings on issues related to commercial marijuana activities, including cultivation, sometime in September.
“Then we (the staff) can get direction from the whole board about what to do about commercial cultivation,” Yankovich said.
The medical and recreational cultivation ordinance was approved March 16 by the Planning Commission. It is essentially the third version produced, starting with a much more restrictive staff version that was produced after early discussions with the Board of Supervisors.
The board, as a whole, opposed Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana use in California. Supervisor Skip Thomson, who supports medical marijuana uses, has been particularly outspoken about his opposition to anything to do with recreational marijuana use.
The Planning Commission found many of the provisions in the draft ordinance to be heavy-handed or covered by other county codes, softening and reshaping the regulations into the version that the supervisors will consider Tuesday.
It will allow up to six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants for individuals personal use. They can be grown inside or outside of a private residence, or in a “permanent residential accessory structure located on the grounds of a private residence.”
The same limits are placed on individual medical users after laws concerning those cultivation standards were merged into a single standard aligned with recreational use.
The ordinance then sets regulations for outdoor and indoor regulations. Outdoor gardens, for example, must be located in the back 50 percent of the property, 10 feet from the property line or easement, and be screened from public view.
Gas products and open flames are not allowed in areas where plants are grown indoors.
The drying and processing areas, either inside or out, must be in a secure area – fenced if outside – and not accessible to visitors or under-age people.
Anyone who grows marijuana as a primary caregiver must obtain an annual administrative permit from the county, and sets forth a variety of other regulations, but are allowed indoor or outdoor grows.
The ordinance will go into effect 30 days after board approval.
The board is also scheduled to meet for a closed session at 1 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations.
credit:dailyrepublic.com