Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors gave staff direction to further revise its draft medical marijuana ordinance on Tuesday, and plan to finalize its adoption March 27.

Planning Director Susan Grijalva said the Land Use Committee met twice with the public in December and the Planning Commission recommended some changes to the ordinance. She also offered medical pot growing regulations and rules in place in Mendocino County.

Changes the board approved for the draft ordinance include limiting marijuana growing to 12 plants per patient, or up to 24 plants on any one piece of land. They also limited grows to be located no closer than 600 feet from a “youth-oriented facility, a school, a park, or any church or residential treatment facility.” They also placed a “setback” of 100 feet from property lines, or 50 feet from structures, or, if the property is too small, the marijuana plants must be screened so they are not visible to the general public.

They also set the ordinance to require that a medical pot grower must be either the owner of the property, or have written permission from the owner for the marijuana growing operation. They required that lights for the growing “be shielded and downcast or otherwise positioned in a manner that will not shine light or allow light glare to exceed the boundaries of the parcel.”

The ordinance will say that “cultivation of marijuana shall not subject residents of neighboring parcels who are of normal sensitivity to objectionable odors,” also borrowed from Mendocino. Supervisors discussed adding an abatement clause, but staff has anticipated enforcement and it was not necessary to include.

Supervisors directed the changes with plans to adopt the ordinance at its next meeting, and the ordinance would take effect 30 days from that date. About a dozen people spoke in support of the draft ordinance, which Supervisors had promised to try to get passed before the coming growing season, as the Board last year passed an emergency ban on outdoor growing of medical pot.

Supervisor John Plasse asked about limiting the exception of medical growing to only Amador County residents. County Counsel Greg Gillott said without researching it, he was wary of recommending that, because it “potentially raises another issue about discrimination against out-of-county residents.

Plasse asked why they cannot require marijuana growers to register for an “over-the-counter permit.” Gillott said staff did not want to recommend permits because it would create public lists of growing locations. He said another concern was that “affirmatively permitting growing could violate federal law,” as ruled against Long Beach in its license system.

Plasse said: “We are not licensing it. We’re just passively condoning it by turning a blind eye.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.