Feb 17 2025 Newsletter - County's Proposal will bring cannabis closer to your home.

Permit Sonoma Proposes Cutting the Required Minimum Cannabis Cultivation Parcel Size in Half!

Permit Sonoma has proposed the current 10-acre minimum parcel size for cultivating cannabis be reduced to 5 acres. The stated goal is “to encourage business opportunities for a wider group of socio-economic groups.” Frequently Asked Questions p. 7. This proposal would allow cultivation on an additional 2,281 parcels which are zoned Agriculture (DA, LIA and LEA zoning districts) plus the parcels zoned Rural Resources Development (RRD) which is not an agricultural zone and is designated to protect natural resources and provide low-density development.

While “agriculture” is in the zoning title and description, in recent decades, significant numbers of agriculturally zoned parcels were reduced to smaller parcel sizes (1, 5, 10 acres) for rural single-family homes. These areas now lack true agriculture operations but under this proposal, those of five acres or more could be sites for commercial cannabis cultivation.

Why Should You Be Concerned?

Does this proposal affect you and your neighborhood? Most people don’t know the zoning of their parcel or how their neighboring parcels are zoned. It’s important! Here’s how you can find out. Use Parcel SearchThe Current Proposal Violates the Criteria Agreed Upon and Approved by the Supervisors in March 2022 Cannabis Framework Document, and Makes Things Much Worse.

• The proposal blindly looks at how parcels are zoned, not how they now are being used.  The proposal says if the parcel is zoned agriculture, then commercial pot is ok. This is contrary to the Framework where neighborhood compatibility is required regardless of zoning.
• The proposal to reduce parcel size from 10 to 5 acres directly contradicts the Board of Supervisors’ 2018 requirement of a 10-acre minimum, which solved many conflicts. This five acre minimum proposal is a step backwards, and if adopted it will re-ignite problems in many neighborhoods by increasing the number of commercial grow sites in residential neighborhoods.
  • County-wide this will open 2,281 additional parcels (~17,000acres) for commercial cannabis!  The current rules already allow commercial cannabis on 8,549 parcels (over 223,000 acres) - isn’t that enough?
• The County’s own economic study (HdL, FiscalAnalysis of the Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Industry found that outdoor cannabis is not profitable in Sonoma County, and never will be. Why is the County encouraging activities that will fail for the small growers they claim to champion while simultaneously generating neighborhood animosity?

An Example in West County -
A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words

Examine the map, below, of the approximate 1800 residential parcels, zoned agriculturally between Sebastopol and Occidental that would be eligible for cannabis growing, event parties, and retail sales in 2025 under this proposal. Cultivation would not even be required on these parcels for them to become destination sites. However, neighbors of these sites would be stuck with that cannabis designation forever without any legal recourse.Most of these areas now lack true agriculture operations. They are now residential neighborhoods. Yet these neighborhoods are still zoned as agriculture, making them eligible for commercial cannabis. These areas, mainly near the cities and transportation corridors (hwy. 116, etc.), are now residential neighborhoods in character. This is where most conflicts exist with commercial cannabis. Unfortunately, the legal term “agriculture” and those rules will apply to the most populous residential communities in unincorporated areas throughout Sonoma CountyEVENTS - Permit Sonoma has also proposed that cannabis events with tours, consumption, and retail sales be allowed on ALL four zoned parcels described above, whether cannabis is being cultivated or not. There could be up to 104 events per parcel yearly. The number of parcels where such events could be held number 10,830!  (The figures quoted are from the County’s own report.)

A Personal Testimonial from a West County Resident

As a resident two miles west of Sebastopol, I lived 100 feet from my neighbor’s 4,000 outdoor cannabis plants and 6 feet from several indoor grow buildings, trucks, employee break areas, and fertilizer storage. Of the other six bordering neighbors, two moved away and sold. We tried to sell but failed.

Because of their sly ordinance implementation, the Board of Supervisors denied all neighbors’ rights to complain. We had to move away, too. Supervisor Hopkins visited our house and experienced the uncontrollable, overwhelming cannabis odor. She acknowledged the problem. The odor was 24x7 all year, and yet the Supervisors didn’t help our neighborhood. Instead of caring about our ruined quality of life in our own home, the Supervisors now will add tourism, parties, and retail sales at these cannabis business sites. This will further degrade our lives and decrease our property value.

Am I a NIMBY? You don’t know what it’s like to live 100 feet from a huge cannabis operation until it’s there and permanently approved by the County. Now, add special event parties, shuttle tourism, and retail sales on your streets. ‘Dead Skunk’ Stench From Marijuana Farms Outrages Californians (Published 2018)   nytimes.com

How You Can Help Protect Your Neighborhood

1. Become fully aware of the cannabis ordinance changes at the County’s website that impact your property;
2. If you don’t like the direction Permit Sonoma is headed, call the Supervisor’s switchboard (707-565-2241) and leave a message. Communicate directly to the Board about the priority of neighborhood compatibility in their decision-making and object to Permit Sonoma’s failure to make neighborhood compatibility their guiding light as they were directed; and
3. Visit Neighborhood Coalition Sonoma County to learn more ways you can get involved and help protect your neighborhood

Our campaign to preserve what we all hold near and dear needs your support. Your tax-deductible donation will fund technical experts and our legal team that are critical to our effort to require the County to protect our environment, children, and the health and safety of our neighborhoods.

The Neighborhood Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, volunteer-based, dedicated to advocating for proper cannabis and land-use policies that benefit the community. All donations support these efforts.

You can donate online , or you can mail a check to:

Sonoma Neighborhood Coalition
PO Box 1229
Sebastopol, CA 95473

Thank you for your support and donation.
The Neighborhood Coalition team

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