CA: Planning Commission Denies Cannabis Registration Appeals

Katelyn Baker;3045887 said:

By 11 a.m. on Thursday, the Calaveras County Planning Commission had already upheld the denials two of seven appeals filed by people whose applications to register medical cannabis farms had been rejected by Planning Department staff. At that hour, denial supporters from a church group were waiting in line to speak in favor of denying a third appeal as well.

That appeal was filed by Heriberto Gomez of DGB Medical Group Inc. of Stockton.

The property is a 30.86-acre site at 2969 Highway 12, Burson. Gomez on June 9 filed an application for a 22,000-square-foot cultivation area. Planning Department staff members reported that after a “review of the registration file and recent aerial imagery, staff discovered an issue with the photographs that were submitted.” The report said that “there is still insufficient evidence to support the claim that a 22,000 square-foot cultivation site existed on the property prior to May 10, 2016.”

May 10 was the date when the Board of Supervisors passed the urgency ordinance regulating medical cannabis cultivation in Calaveras County. No new grows are permitted past that date.

The first appeal, by Steve Santos, was denied when the commissioners concluded that he could not produce evidence that he had filed a registration package as required before June 30 for the a 5.12-acre site at 140 Melsher Lane, Valley Springs and a 5.7-acre site at 147 Melsher Lane..

“I saw them pick it up and put it in the box,” Santos said of Planning Department staff. Despite that claim, Darcy Goulart, a Planner III, said there was no evidence of a properly filed registration package.

Santos said he is in the business “for the long term” and has other grow sites in other counties and will appeal to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.

The second appeal was denied when the commissioners determined that the 30.5-acre property at 8576 Schaad Road near West Point is zoned for timber production. Cannabis cultivation is not permitted in that zone.

Danial Jack and Elias Egozi of Jackson own the property. Jack said he will also appeal to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.

The timing of the appeals process is such that many cannabis farmers may be able to harvest this year’s crop before the appeals to the Board of Supervisors are resolved. Three appeals involving medical cannabis farm registrations are set to go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

“We try to process the appeals as quickly as possible,” said Planning Director Peter Maurer. Maurer said that as of Wednesday, staff members had rejected 30 applications. Of those, 14 were appealed.

Maurer said once a final determination has been made, applicants who have been denied must tear out their grows. He added that once denied, applicants cannot grow in the future. “So we’re looking at not only this year’s crop, but also future cultivation in Calaveras County.”

But for some, the stakes may only be as high as this year’s crop. With a potential income of between several hundred thousand dollars and several million dollars, some growers could be looking no farther than the end of this year’s growing season, which is only a few weeks off.

“I can’t speak for them, but it’s certainly possible that some are gaming the system,” said Maurer. “It’s certainly possible that they are trying to put off the final decision for a another couple of weeks or months.”

Before Thursday, six appeals of cannabis farm registration denials had come before the commission.

“Every denial has been upheld,” said Maurer.

Other appeals still awaiting the commission’s attention at midday Thursday:

• Appellant Mong Lou Vang filed for a cannabis registration on a 6.96-acre site northwest of Joses Road at West Murry Creek Road in Mountain Ranch. Aerial photos submitted with the June 23 application includes photos dated April 30 that show a large water tank and six rows of 53 large, dirt-filled pots. Yet aerial survey of the property on June 3 failed to show the water tank and pots. Planning staff denied Vang’s application based on the differences in the images.

• Joe Orozco of JCO Farms applied to register a 22,000-square-foot grow site at 2701 Independence Road in Rail Road Flat. Planning Department staff said the “registration reveals disqualifying evidence,” with inadequate evidence of cultivation activity prior to May 10. The staff report also said there is no legal water source for the site.

• Austin deTagle of Eleanor’s Inc. in San Jose applied to grow on property owned by the estate of Virginia Jeff, care of Betty Jeff, at 1183 John Eaph Trail near West Point. But Planning Department staff report that Virginia Jeff died in 2000 and there has been no affidavit of death recorded at the Recorder’s Office. Mary E. Jeff signed all the documents in the registration packet as property owner. “Therefore, Mary Jeff has no legal authority to sign as the owner of title; thus voiding the registration,” said the report.

Planning staff also reported there was no evidence of cannabis cultivation prior to May 10, and a “record of on-going violation of County Code, which include construction without a permit, junk and debris, junk cars, improper disposal of sewage and unlawful use of recreation vehicles for permanent occupancy.”

• Landowner Gary Freitas of Burson applied to register a 6.35-acre site at 127835 Camanche Parkway in Burson. Planning Department staff said they received a letter from Freitas’ daughter, Crystal Robles, saying that there were no plants on the property prior to July 2016. The letter was co-signed by Robles’ husband, sister and brother-in-law. The only photographic evidence of cultivation shows small plants in plastic cups with nothing to indicate that the plants were housed and grown on the property. An aerial image dated June 3 show no grading or cultivation activity on the property, according to a staff report.

News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Planning Commission Denies Cannabis Registration Appeals
Author: Terry Grillo
Contact: 209-754-3861
Photo Credit: Gillian Flaccus
Website: Calaveras Enterprise

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