Planning Commission — Thursday, December 12, 2024

On October 10, 2024, this item was heard by the Planning Commission. Public Comment provided for new information to be considered. A continuation of the project was scheduled to a date and time certain of December 12, 2024, at 9:05 a.m. to allow staff to address public concerns specific to water use, roadway improvements, pesticides, and security concerns. Public Comment as of October 10, 2024, was received and is Attachment 10 to the Staff Report. The applicant, 17870 Little High Valley, LLC/Mark MCDonald is requesting discretionary approval from the County of Lake for a Major Use Permit (UP 21-07) Little High Valley for a proposed outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation operation located at 17870 Little High Valley Road, Lower Lake (APN: 012-061-03). The Project Parcel is located in a rural area of southwestern Lake County approximately 2.5 miles southeast of the community of Lower Lake and is accessed via deeded easements on Little High Valley Road to Spruce Grove Road, a county-maintained road. The operation would include two (2) A - Type 3 "Medium Outdoor" commercial cannabis cultivation license consisting of 87,120 sf of canopy area one within 90,620 sf cultivation area, and one (1) Type 13 "Self-Distribution: Transport Only" license, and a 3,500-sf building (50'x70'x14') for processing, drying, and storage of cannabis. The subject parcel is zoned "RL" Rural Lands, is approximately 78.38 acres in size. Historical uses of the site include agricultural operations and cattle grazing.

RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends the Planning Commission take the following actions: A. Adopt Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS 21-07) for Major Use Permit (UP 21-07) with the following findings: 1. Potential environmental impacts related to Aesthetics can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measure AES-1. 2. Potential environmental impacts related to Air Quality can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures AQ-1 through AQ-6. 3. Potential environmental impacts related to Biological Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures BIO-1 through BIO-5. 4. Potential environmental impacts related to Cultural Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures CUL-1 and CUL-2. 5. Potential environmental impacts related to Hazards and Hazardous Materials can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures HAZ-1 through HAZ-8. 6. Potential environmental impacts related to Hydrology and Water Quality can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures HYD-1 and HYD-2. 7. Potential environmental impacts related to noise can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures NOI-1 and NOI-2. 8. Potential environmental impacts related to Tribal Cultural Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels by mitigation measures CUL-1, CUL-2, TCR-1, and TCR-2 9. Potential wildfire impacts can be reduced to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures WDF-1 through WDF-5. 10. This project is consistent with land uses in the vicinity. 11. This project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan, Lower Lake Area Plan and Lake County Zoning Ordinance. B. Approve Major Use Permit (UP 21-07) with the following findings: 1. That the establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use applied for will not under the circumstances of the particular case, be detrimental to the health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the persons residing or working in the neighborhood of such proposed use or be detrimental to property and improvements in the neighborhood or the general welfare of the County. 2. That the site for the project is adequate in size, shape, location, and physical characteristics to accommodate the type of use and level of development proposed. 3. That the streets, highways and pedestrian facilities are reasonably adequate to safely accommodate the specific proposed use with mitigation measure added. 4. That there are adequate public or private services, including but not limited to fire protection, water supply, sewage disposal, and police protection to serve the project. 5. That the project is in conformance with the applicable provisions and policies of this Code, the Lake County General Plan, the Lower Lake Area Plan and the Lake County Zoning Ordinance. 6. That no violation of Chapters 5, 17, 21, 23 or 26 of the Lake County Code currently exists on the property, unless the purpose of the permit is to correct the violation, or the permit relates to a portion of the property which is sufficiently separate and apart from the portion of the property in violation so as not to be affected by the violation from a public health, safety or general welfare basis. 7. The proposed use complies with all development standards described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.i. 8. The applicant is qualified to make the application described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.ii.(g). 9. The application complies with the qualifications for a permit described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.ii.(i).

Staff recommends the Planning Commission take the following actions: A. Adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS 23-10) for Major Use Permit (UP 23-05 with the following findings: 1. Potential environmental impacts related to Aesthetics can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures AES-1 and AES-2. 2. Potential environmental impacts related to Air Quality can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures AQ-1 through AQ-5. 3. Potential environmental impacts related to Biological Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures BIO-1 through BIO-5. 4. Potential environmental impacts related to Cultural can be mitigated to less than significant with the inclusion of mitigation measures CUL-1 and CUL3. 5. Potential environmental impacts related to Geology and Soils can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures GEO-1. 6. Potential environmental impacts related to Hazards and Hazardous Materials can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures HAZ-1 through HAZ-6. 7. Potential environmental impacts related to Hydrology can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures BIO-1 and HAZ-1 and HAZ-4. 8. Potential environmental impacts related to Public Services can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures HAZ-4. 9. Potential environmental impacts related to Transportation can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures TRN-1 and TRN-2. 10. Potential environmental impacts related to Tribal Cultural Resources can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measure TCR-1 through TCR-3 11. Potential environmental impacts related to Wildfire can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures HAZ-5 and HAZ-6. B. Approve Major Use Permit (UP 23-05) with the following findings: 1. That the establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use applied for will not under the circumstances, be detrimental to the health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the persons residing or working in the neighborhood of such proposed use or be detrimental to property and improvements in the neighborhood or the general welfare of the County. 2. The site is adequate in size, shape, locations, and physical characteristics to accommodate the type of use and level of development proposed. 3. The streets, highways and pedestrian facilities are reasonably adequate to safely accommodate the proposed use. 4. There are adequate services to serve the project. 5. This project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan, Upper Lake-Nice Area Plan, and Lake County Zoning Ordinance. 6. No violation of Chapter 5, 17, 21, 23 or 26 of the Lake County Code currently exists on this property, with a condition of approval implemented.

The applicant, Nina Bogdanova of Nina Star, LLC is proposing a commercial cannabis cultivation operation consisting of two (2) A-Type 3B licenses for 37,446 square feet (sf) of mixed-light canopy within a 48,529 sf cultivation area and an A-Type 13 Distributor, Self-Distribution, transport only license. The site is located approximately two miles north of the Lake/Napa County line. Topography consists of rolling grassland with slopes between 2% to 10% in the west and 10% to 20% in the east. Several known watercourses and potential wetlands, including Saint Helena Creek, a Class I, perennial watercourse; one (1) Class II watercourse; and several Class III watercourses are located on the project parcel. All setbacks from watercourses have been identified. No surface water diversion is proposed. The property is developed with a permitted residence and septic system, residential accessory structures, and an existing well. Historical uses include animal husbandry and grazing. Total parcel acreage is 47.36 acres.

Staff recommends the Planning Commission take the following actions: A. Adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS 20-16) for Major Use Permit (UP 20-14) with the following findings: 1. Potential environmental impacts related to Aesthetics (AES) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures AES1 through AES-2. 2. Potential environmental impacts related to Air Quality (AQ) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures AQ-1 through AQ-6. 3. Potential environmental impacts related to Biological Resources (BIO) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures BIO-1 through BIO-6. 4. Potential environmental impacts related to Cultural Resources (CUL) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures CUL-1 through CUL-2 5. Potential environmental impacts related to Geology and Soils (GEO) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures GEO-1 through GEO-4. 6. Potential environmental impacts related to Hazards and Hazardous Material (HAZ) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures HAZ-1 through HAZ-8. 7. Potential environmental impacts related to Hydrology and Water Quality (HYD) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures HYD-1 through HYD-2. 8. Potential environmental impacts related to Noise (NOI) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures NOI-1 through NOI-2. 9. Potential environmental impacts related to Tribal Cultural Resources (TCR) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures CUL-1, CUL-2, TCR-1, and TCR-2. 10. Potential environmental impacts related to Wildfire (WDF) can be mitigated to less than significant levels with the inclusion of mitigation measures WDF-1 through WDF-4. B. Approve Major Use Permit UP 20-14 with the following findings: That the establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use applied for will not under the circumstances, be detrimental to the health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the persons residing or working in the neighborhood of such proposed use 1. or be detrimental to property and improvements in the neighborhood or the general welfare of the County. 2. The site is adequate in size, shape, locations, and physical characteristics to accommodate the type of use and level of development proposed. 3. The streets, highways and pedestrian facilities are reasonably adequate to safely accommodate the proposed use. 4. There are adequate services to serve the project. 5. This project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan, Middletown Area Plan, and Lake County Zoning Ordinance. 6. No violation of Chapter 5, 17, 21, 23 or 26 of the Lake County Code currently exists on this property, with a condition of approval implemented. 7. The proposed use complies with all development standards described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.i. 8. The applicant is qualified to make the application described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.ii.(g). 9. The application complies with the qualifications for a permit described in Chapter 21, Article 27, Section 1.ii.(i).