One more vote for a cannabis moratorium

EDITOR: The County has ineffective provisions for proliferation and over concentration of cannabis and has opened it to all agricultural land without localized and specific environmental review is of a scale that defies wholesale mitigation. This is especially so in a county with such varied topography and conditions and the many residential enclaves adjacent to agriculture lands.

The ministerial process gives undue authority to County Officials. There are numerous requirements in the process of approving cannabis cultivation that require discretionary decision-making as well as in implementing requirements of conditions on applicants that reasonably would require a Conditional Use Permit process. The great concern and impacts residents have identified to the Supervisors should make it clear more control needs to be exercised in identifying and mitigating the impacts of locating cannabis near rural communities. A CUP allows differences in location and issues relative to each community to be considered individually.

Ministerial permitting is proliferating to get projects in prior to the Environmental Impact Report and proposed cannabis ordinance that is not expected to be in place until 2024 or later. A moratorium is necessary to determine how and where cannabis will be sited in Sonoma County rather than the rush that is occurring without forethought and planning.

Veva Edelson

Bloomfield