420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
Yuba County has adopted an ordinance to guide when growing medical marijuana is a nuisance, but the ordinance, and legal reaction to it, are far from burned out as an issue.
With an overflow crowd at Tuesday's meeting, supervisors adopted the ordinance on a 4-1 vote with the understanding an ad hoc committee of two supervisors will continue studying the issue for possible changes before final adoption next month.
"We're trying to deal with this issue in a civil way," said Supervisor John Nicoletti, one of the committee members, after county Sheriff Steve Durfor said his department had more than 200 nuisance calls about pot grows last year. "We need to be pretty honest about the impacts going all the way around, or the problem won't go away."
But civility was a tough requirement for many who attended, who loudly booed after the vote and on more than one occasional drowned out supervisors from the floor, both during the ordinance's presentation and during subsequent public comment and supervisor discussion.
The ordinance, created by the committee in consultation with county staff, local growers and law enforcement representatives, would create limits on how big a space people with valid medical marijuana cards could use to grow plants, depending on the size of the parcel.
As well, the parcel would have to have a inhabited, permitted home on it; growing indoors or inside a structure such as a shed would be encouraged to keep plants from public view; and the grow area would have a defined setback from fence lines.
For many speakers, the key sticking point was the 10-foot-by-10-foot growing space allowed on parcels less than an acre, which county staff said would accommodate about six plants.
Many said that was too small relative to the amount needed to medicate various illnesses. One speaker demonstrated by standing arms spread inside a demonstration area the county set up in board chambers, complete with lobby plants in the place of mature pot grows. "
Since doctors don't have a limit on what they can recommend, the county shouldn't have a limit," said Daniel Aspin.
Many speakers took it a step further, saying the county's ordinance was an attempt to strip rights from people who were sick and bearing signs with the same message. As one woman said, "Who are you to tell me, 'you can only grow on 10-by-10'? It's my property!"
The repeated catcalls from the audience, often followed by others encouraging quiet, seemed to vex the supervisors, with chairman Hal Stocker saying at one point, "Can't you see something's being done up here?"
Representatives from the Yuba County Growers Association, a registered not-for-profit group, told supervisors they believed the ordinance was better than one originally discussed last month, but still far from what was needed.
Supervisor Mary Jane Griego, the other committee member working on the issue, agreed for more consideration, and motioned for continuing the item. No one seconded it, and the ordinance then passed on a 4-1 vote with Griego opposed.
Sam McConnell, the YCGA's president, said he was hopeful he could meet with the county before the ordinance comes up again for final adoption on May 1. Among the unresolved issues were how the ordinance would apply to collectives, where marijuana for several patients is grown in one location.
Without changes, though, he said his group was prepared to file an injunction, and subsequent lawsuits.
"A lot of people have already spent time and money," he said of his group, which has about 2,000 members. He said he believed the county had to work with his group. "We are voters too," he said.
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Marysville, CA
Source: Appeal-Democrat
Author: Ben van der Meer
Contact: www.appeal-democrat.com
Copyright: 2012 Appeal-Democrat
Website: www.appeal-democrat.com
With an overflow crowd at Tuesday's meeting, supervisors adopted the ordinance on a 4-1 vote with the understanding an ad hoc committee of two supervisors will continue studying the issue for possible changes before final adoption next month.
"We're trying to deal with this issue in a civil way," said Supervisor John Nicoletti, one of the committee members, after county Sheriff Steve Durfor said his department had more than 200 nuisance calls about pot grows last year. "We need to be pretty honest about the impacts going all the way around, or the problem won't go away."
But civility was a tough requirement for many who attended, who loudly booed after the vote and on more than one occasional drowned out supervisors from the floor, both during the ordinance's presentation and during subsequent public comment and supervisor discussion.
The ordinance, created by the committee in consultation with county staff, local growers and law enforcement representatives, would create limits on how big a space people with valid medical marijuana cards could use to grow plants, depending on the size of the parcel.
As well, the parcel would have to have a inhabited, permitted home on it; growing indoors or inside a structure such as a shed would be encouraged to keep plants from public view; and the grow area would have a defined setback from fence lines.
For many speakers, the key sticking point was the 10-foot-by-10-foot growing space allowed on parcels less than an acre, which county staff said would accommodate about six plants.
Many said that was too small relative to the amount needed to medicate various illnesses. One speaker demonstrated by standing arms spread inside a demonstration area the county set up in board chambers, complete with lobby plants in the place of mature pot grows. "
Since doctors don't have a limit on what they can recommend, the county shouldn't have a limit," said Daniel Aspin.
Many speakers took it a step further, saying the county's ordinance was an attempt to strip rights from people who were sick and bearing signs with the same message. As one woman said, "Who are you to tell me, 'you can only grow on 10-by-10'? It's my property!"
The repeated catcalls from the audience, often followed by others encouraging quiet, seemed to vex the supervisors, with chairman Hal Stocker saying at one point, "Can't you see something's being done up here?"
Representatives from the Yuba County Growers Association, a registered not-for-profit group, told supervisors they believed the ordinance was better than one originally discussed last month, but still far from what was needed.
Supervisor Mary Jane Griego, the other committee member working on the issue, agreed for more consideration, and motioned for continuing the item. No one seconded it, and the ordinance then passed on a 4-1 vote with Griego opposed.
Sam McConnell, the YCGA's president, said he was hopeful he could meet with the county before the ordinance comes up again for final adoption on May 1. Among the unresolved issues were how the ordinance would apply to collectives, where marijuana for several patients is grown in one location.
Without changes, though, he said his group was prepared to file an injunction, and subsequent lawsuits.
"A lot of people have already spent time and money," he said of his group, which has about 2,000 members. He said he believed the county had to work with his group. "We are voters too," he said.
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Marysville, CA
Source: Appeal-Democrat
Author: Ben van der Meer
Contact: www.appeal-democrat.com
Copyright: 2012 Appeal-Democrat
Website: www.appeal-democrat.com
