Changes the county approved to the way it abates nuisances drew objections from medical marijuana advocates at two recent meetings of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors.
An ordinance that adopted the changes was on the board's consent calendar, which is supposed to contain items that can be approved all at the same time because they are expected to be routine and non-controversial.
The board voted 4-1 to approve the consent items Tuesday, with board Chairman John Pinches dissenting. The board had approved the ordinance that drew objection on Aug. 18 in a 3-2 vote, with Pinches and Supervisor David Colfax opposing.
Pebbles Trippet of the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board and the Medical Marijuana Patient's Union said Tuesday that because the changes affected medical marijuana patients, the item shouldn't have been on the board's consent calendar.
"I would like to request that, for the future, anything to do with medical marijuana is virtually always by definition controversial," Trippet said.
The ordinance revised Mendocino County Code 8.75, which is used to enforce the county's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance, Mendocino Code 9.31. Under 9.31, a nuisance exists when more than 25 marijuana plants are growing on any given parcel.
Trippet said using the nuisance abatement code to enforce the medical marijuana cultivation ordinance moved the medical marijuana issue into the criminal realm.
"Deputies are ... often called to be on hand, and it doesn't work for the patients community. There are statutory rights and constitutional rights that are at issue here," Trippet said.
Most of the changes to the county's abatement code were minor, according to County Counsel Jeanine Nadel.
One of the major changes was that a person who has been notified that a nuisance exists on his or her property and does not abate the nuisance and tries to stop an officer from doing so can be charged with a misdemeanor.
Nadel said because of the objections at the board's Aug. 18 meeting, the new rule was changed so that it doesn't apply to situations where the marijuana cultivation ordinance is being enforced.
Nadel said the county has the right to abate a property where more than 25 marijuana plants are growing "if it is an immediate threat to the public's safety."
She said notices have been issued under the nuisance ordinance, but abatement hasn't been necessary.
"Our experience is that people have voluntarily complied," Nadel said.
The changes to the nuisance abatement code apply to all nuisances, not just to marijuana cultivation. They include a provision that allows the board to seek triple the amount of the cost of abating the nuisance if it is a second violation or a subsequent violation.
In addition, a cost-saving measure was added that allows the board to appoint a committee of three community members to hear appeals for any nuisance case. Before the revision, a lawyer had to hear appeals.
"It's been very expensive for the county to enforce the nuisance laws," Supervisor John McCowen said. "If someone wanted to get an attorney to drag it out, it cost the county a lot of money, and that has been a disincentive for the county to move forward. That's why there's a backlog of 1,976 code enforcement cases."
The Health and Human Services Committee is reviewing the county's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. Nadel said the committee is considering exceptions to the 25-plant-per-parcel rule for marijuana collectives and cooperatives that obtain a county-issued permit to grow up to 99 marijuana plants.
The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. in Conference Room C of the Mendocino County Administration Building on Low Gap Road.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
Author: TIFFANY REVELLE
Contact: Ukiah Daily Journal
Copyright: 2009 Ukiah Daily Journal
Website: Medical Marijuana Activists Object To County Code Change
An ordinance that adopted the changes was on the board's consent calendar, which is supposed to contain items that can be approved all at the same time because they are expected to be routine and non-controversial.
The board voted 4-1 to approve the consent items Tuesday, with board Chairman John Pinches dissenting. The board had approved the ordinance that drew objection on Aug. 18 in a 3-2 vote, with Pinches and Supervisor David Colfax opposing.
Pebbles Trippet of the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board and the Medical Marijuana Patient's Union said Tuesday that because the changes affected medical marijuana patients, the item shouldn't have been on the board's consent calendar.
"I would like to request that, for the future, anything to do with medical marijuana is virtually always by definition controversial," Trippet said.
The ordinance revised Mendocino County Code 8.75, which is used to enforce the county's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance, Mendocino Code 9.31. Under 9.31, a nuisance exists when more than 25 marijuana plants are growing on any given parcel.
Trippet said using the nuisance abatement code to enforce the medical marijuana cultivation ordinance moved the medical marijuana issue into the criminal realm.
"Deputies are ... often called to be on hand, and it doesn't work for the patients community. There are statutory rights and constitutional rights that are at issue here," Trippet said.
Most of the changes to the county's abatement code were minor, according to County Counsel Jeanine Nadel.
One of the major changes was that a person who has been notified that a nuisance exists on his or her property and does not abate the nuisance and tries to stop an officer from doing so can be charged with a misdemeanor.
Nadel said because of the objections at the board's Aug. 18 meeting, the new rule was changed so that it doesn't apply to situations where the marijuana cultivation ordinance is being enforced.
Nadel said the county has the right to abate a property where more than 25 marijuana plants are growing "if it is an immediate threat to the public's safety."
She said notices have been issued under the nuisance ordinance, but abatement hasn't been necessary.
"Our experience is that people have voluntarily complied," Nadel said.
The changes to the nuisance abatement code apply to all nuisances, not just to marijuana cultivation. They include a provision that allows the board to seek triple the amount of the cost of abating the nuisance if it is a second violation or a subsequent violation.
In addition, a cost-saving measure was added that allows the board to appoint a committee of three community members to hear appeals for any nuisance case. Before the revision, a lawyer had to hear appeals.
"It's been very expensive for the county to enforce the nuisance laws," Supervisor John McCowen said. "If someone wanted to get an attorney to drag it out, it cost the county a lot of money, and that has been a disincentive for the county to move forward. That's why there's a backlog of 1,976 code enforcement cases."
The Health and Human Services Committee is reviewing the county's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. Nadel said the committee is considering exceptions to the 25-plant-per-parcel rule for marijuana collectives and cooperatives that obtain a county-issued permit to grow up to 99 marijuana plants.
The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. in Conference Room C of the Mendocino County Administration Building on Low Gap Road.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
Author: TIFFANY REVELLE
Contact: Ukiah Daily Journal
Copyright: 2009 Ukiah Daily Journal
Website: Medical Marijuana Activists Object To County Code Change
