From the Field: The County Has Failed us, West County

I live in West County and there are three illegal cannabis grows in close proximity to our family home, and additional illegal and legal grows within a mile. Residents have good reasons to not trust the County to enforce illegal grow operations or illegal building code violations because the county’s horrific track record speaks volumes and these residents live in fear of retribution. Two of the close grows were robbed by gangs in past few years, which only leads to more people living on the site in rogue illegal housing that clearly does not meet code. These grow operations and associated housing are unequivocally a fire hazard. The traffic on our narrow dead end roads has increased tenfold since the robberies, and exacerbate wildfire evacuation risks. I have lost count of the residents who sold their homes and left out of fear. Their complaints are not about cannabis odor, but fear for their lives. Our Supervisor touts small business as a reason to protect growers and gently nudge them into compliance. She is shamefully out of touch with her constituents.