Jan 20 2025 Newsletter - 2025 Calendar of Cannabis meetings
January 20, 2025
January 20th, 2025
2025 WILL BE A BUSY YEAR!
On January 10th, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) released a Preliminary Calendar for 2025. Although the dates are tentative, as the saying goes, “Forewarned is forearmed,” so we will be prepared. In addition to the Cannabis Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) scheduled for release in January and discussed below, the agenda will include three other cannabis proposals:
MARCH 11. Cannabis Equity Grant. This will be a “consent” item which means the BOS will simply approve a resolution to accept the state grant monies. This is the second flood of cash. The first round, described in our September Newsletter, was a fiasco with awards going to the most successful and influential people in the County’s legal cannabis industry. The embarrassing debacle was covered by the press (Sebastopol Times, S.F. Gate, the L.A. Times) and finally in a two-part article in the Press Democrat. Sonoma County was a laughingstock.
MARCH 18. Cannabis Health Ordinance. Amendments are to be made to the ordinance which currently has no provisions whatsoever for community health. No monies have ever been allocated to educate or protect the public. Read our October Newsletter on this issue. Our health team has been meeting with County Health Department officials to address this concerning omission. The BOS has scheduled 2 hours for this item.
APRIL 15. Cannabis Business Tax Review. The BOS has lowered the tax rate three times. Currently the revenue does not cover the expenses involved in administering the program. Supervisor Hopkins asserts that the industry should not be taxed at all. For more background information on this issue, read our November Newsletter. 1.5 hours are scheduled for this item.
CANNABIS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
The Timeline is available on the County website. Promises to date on the Timeline have not been kept:
- The County has not provided public access to technical studies used in the environmental analysis
- Nor has it provided public status updates throughout the EIR process per the commitment in the Timeline.
Nevertheless, they plan to publish the DEIR in January 2025 with only a 45-day public review. Note: The Neighborhood Coalition has formally asked for an extension of the 45 day period.In February the Planning Commissioners will receive the DEIR for public comment. Revisions may be made based on the direction given by the Planning Commissioners and by public comment received. The final EIR then will be published with responses to comments. In April, the Planning Commission will hold hearings on the proposed final EIR. In the world of bureaucracies, the time between the publication of the draft and the final EIR can be a nano-second. That schedule suggests the BOS has little interest in digesting the public comments on the DEIR. This timing underscores the need to be poised to respond thoroughly and quickly to concerns about the draft EIR in what might be only 45 days. This is where, with your help, we can make a difference.In May, the Board of Supervisors has scheduled 2 hours on the proposed Ordinance.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
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