June 12 2025 Newsletter DEIR June 19 meeting with Planning Commission
June 12, 2025
June 12th, 2025
Please Attend the First Planning Commission Hearing, Thursday, June 19, 1:05 p.m.
Your Input Matters!
The first Planning Commission hearing on the cannabis draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) is set for Thursday, June 19, 1:05 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors chambers, 575 Administration Dr., Santa Rosa. Even though the Planning Commissioners will not respond to any comments or take any action at this hearing, this is an opportunity for you to speak up and voice your concerns and objections about the DEIR. You can watch the hearing on Zoom but comments can be made only in person or by email to the Planning Commission, soplease attend and/or email your concerns to PlanningAgency@sonoma-county.org and cc Cannabis@sonoma-county.org so they become part of the official record.
THE PROCESS FROM HERE.
The full comment period ends July 15th, after which there will be additional hearings (with the Planning commission and Board of Supervisors). Eventually Permit Sonoma will release a final Environmental Impact Report which the Board of Supervisors will consider approving on October 28th.While the County claims it’s aiming “to increase compatibility between cannabis uses and nearby neighborhoods,” our preliminary review of the DEIR and supporting materials reveals these proposals result in exactly the opposite outcome – namely, substantially decreased protections for neighbors from the negative health and social impacts of cannabis on neighbors resulting in increased animosity between neighbors and cannabis advocates.
The biggest problems we have identified thus far include:
1. Crop Swaps allowed: A field of grapes or an apple orchard can be “swapped” to 10 acres of cannabis without any environmental review of water, odor, or other issues. In other words, neighbors living in a peaceful, traditional agricultural area where grapes and apples are grown suddenly are living next to acres of cannabis. Neighbors would have no prior notice or opportunity to object.
2. Air/Odor Pollution:Forcing neighbors to breath noxious and unhealthy odors including the carcinogen, Beta-Myrcene, in their homes because of inadequate setbacks and lot sizes.
3. Neighborhood Compatilibity Not acheived: While claiming improving neighborhood compatibility is the priority, the proposal for a 600-foot setback quickly reveals that representation as a sham as it only applies to small subset of properties (Homes on Ag zoned properties aren’t included). Though the current ordinance is inadequate, even it provides better setback protection than the DEIR for many residents.
4. Parcel Size Reduced: The minimum lot size for cultivation is reduced from 10 to 5 acres, inflicting nuisances on more neighbors and more exposure to the noxious and unhealthy odors. In other words, more cannabis grows can be shoe-horned into unsuspecting neighborhoods often with no opportunity to object.
5. Setbacks Reduced: The minimum setback of a cultivation site from your home and property is reduced from 300 feet to 100 feet. Your new next-door neighbor might be a field of huge, stinky cannabis plants with noisy workers. Your only recourse may be to move away.
6. Unlimited Events and Retail allowed most everywhere: The DEIR would permit weekly events, including sales and consumption in rural areas as well as retail sales and consumption at “farm stands.” Imagine the behavior of drivers after purchasing and imbibing cannabis as they drive stoned on narrow rural roads. In addition to the dangers on the roads, these rural events and sales of cannabis will attract crime with scant law enforcement to protect the innocent.
7. Redefining Cannabis in order to eliminate your right to object: Contrary to State law, the County is trying to treat cannabis as a “controlled agricultural crop.” The similarities are non-existent. Agriculture promotes food, not drugs. This effort by the County is stunning and unprecedented.
If you want to read more, the 830-page draft Environmental Impact Report includes an Executive Summary plus a word search feature and can be found here. Its appendices include: A (comments received), B (proposed draft ordinance), C (air quality, energy, greenhouse, and odor studies), D (noise study), E (economics study).
CONCLUSION
The DEIR contains proposals which would radically change the essence of our beautiful county and threaten the public health of residents. Our neighboring counties of Napa and Marin do not even allow cannabis to be cultivated. Even with the well-documented failure of the cannabis industry in Sonoma County and the equally well-documented evidence of the public health threats from cannabis cultivation and use, Sonoma County’s dogged determination to make Sonoma County a cannabis center defies understanding. Please voice your objections to the Planning Commission about the DEIR on June 19 by attending the hearing or emailing the commissioners.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you are concerned about what the County is proposing, please take the following actions
- Become fully aware of the cannabis ordinance changes being proposed in the Draft EIR that impact your property and send in your comments and/or attended the June 19th hearing! (per the instructions above) ;
- Visit Neighborhood Coalition Sonoma County to learn more ways you can get involved and help protect your neighborhood
- Make a donation You can donate online , or you can mail a check to:
Sonoma Neighborhood Coalition
PO Box 1229
Sebastopol, CA 95473
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.
Thank you for your support and donation.
The Neighborhood Coalition team