LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Planning Commission will meet this week to discuss two cannabis-related projects, one for cultivation and the second for retail.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The agenda is here.
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The meeting also can be viewed on the county of Lake website and on the county’s Facebook page.
This will be the commission’s first meeting since the Board of Supervisors passed an urgency ordinance on July 27 to require hydrology reports for all projects due to concerns over water supply, as Lake County News has reported.
This will also be the first meeting for new commissioner Maile Field. The supervisors approved her appointment by District 4 Supervisor Jessica Pyska on Aug. 3. She succeeds Lance Williams.
On this week’s agenda are two timed items.
The first, set for 9:05 a.m., is a public hearing to consider a major use permit south by RMI Venture/Jerusalem Grade Farms, located at 22644 Jerusalem Grade Road in Middletown, and owned by Ryan Santiago and Igor Stolper. County records show the property is 21.3 acres.
The proposed project would include a license for outdoor cultivation of 43,560 square feet of canopy, a 25-foot by 50-foot processing building, four 1,000-gallon water tanks, two 2,500-gallon water tanks and a license for self-transport distribution.
The staff report said the cultivation operation will use an existing and permitted groundwater well that was permitted through the California Department of Water Resources. A state well completion report said the well produces 100 gallons of water a minute, but a November well test showed that the well produces 70 gallons per minute.
“The project is estimated to use 746,740-gallons per year for the outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation operation. With the existing well producing approximately 70-gallons per minute, the estimated yield the well would produce in a year is approximately 44,214,705-gallons per year. The proposed project will be utilizing approximately 1.6% percent of the well's full capacity,” the staff report states.
The second project, timed for 9:10 a.m., is a major use permit sought by Paul Bernacchio, who wants to locate a retail cannabis shop in the former Driftwood Lounge at 6914 Frontage Road in Lucerne.
The building is 1,783 square feet. The shop would be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week, with three to five employees and 10 customers daily with 35 deliveries weekly, according to the staff report.
“To protect the public safety and health and the community's comfort, all the visitors will go through a check-in process at the store security foyer before entering the sales area. Also, the project areas including parking lot will be under the supervision of trained security personnel during operating hours and surveillance cameras at all hours,” the staff report explains.
Staff also reported that the construction schedule will begin on the interior and exterior improvements once the permit is obtained.
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Lake County Planning Commission to discuss cannabis cultivation and retail projects this week
- Elizabeth Larson
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