From the field: Masked in Sebastopol, and not because of Covid

To The Board of Supervisors,

Do you know what it’s like to live near a cannabis farm? Unfortunately for us, my family and our neighbors do. There is a medium-size operation with approximately 80 in-ground plants (less than an acre). The smell coming from this operation was overwhelming and constant. We live down-wind from that property. Our house is about 600 feet from their property line, and even with that distance the smell was so strong that we could not open any doors or windows for months; and had to have a HEPA filter running full-time so the odors would not permeate inside our home. I had to wear a mask if I wanted to work in my garden. If I did not, I would feel sick and nauseous by the end of the day. We live in a typical West County neighborhood, with a mixture of residential (RR) and diverse agricultural (DA) lots. We have about 16 properties on our street and 4 of those are above 10 acres. If all 4 of those properties decide to grow cannabis, life as we know it would end for us all. I attended the meetings held by The Planning Commission via Zoom (along with hundreds of neighbors and fellow West County residents). I wrote a letter to The Planning Commission and I voiced my concerns during the pubic comments. But it seems that our concerns were mostly ignored. The Planning Commission even took a step backwards, deciding to remove the requirements to control odors for outdoor growth. How can this be?! Moreover, the Planning Commission recommends to move forward without an Environmental Impact Report… in a time of severe drought! It is utterly irresponsible! We, your constituents, have elected you to look after our interests. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make sure that the quality of life and the property values of our residences are not completely destroyed by allowing the cannabis industry to operate in mixed (RR and DA) residential neighborhoods.

Respectfully,

Redacted in Sebastopol