Pubdate: Sun, 10 Feb 2013 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2013 Chico Enterprise-Record Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861 Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Author: Roger H. Aylworth BUTTE BOARD TO START HEARINGS ON NEW POT CULTIVATION PLAN OROVILLE - Medical marijuana cultivation, one of the most bitterly debated issues ever to come before the Butte County Board of Supervisors, is scheduled for a new public hearing Tuesday afternoon. The hearing is about a new proposed ordinance that would set standards for marijuana cultivation within the county jurisdiction. Ordinances aimed at regulating where marijuana can be grown within the county jurisdiction have been the topic of often-heated public discussion since 2010. After acrimonious public hearings that were so heavily attended that they had to be conducted in venues as large as the Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley, in May of 2011, the supervisors passed a measure that, among other things, prohibited all marijuana cultivation on lots of .5-acre or less. Instantly the measure became the target of a referendum petition drive that succeeded in putting it up for a public vote. On June 5, 2012, it was soundly abolished by the voters. In August of last year the county staff put forth another proposed ordinance that was patterned after a similar measure in Kings County. It quickly became clear the proposal was not gaining supporters, and the supervisors directed the staff to establish a committee that included marijuana growers, non-grower neighbors, county staff, and elected county officials. The final panel included: * Marijuana advocates Matt Larkins, Rob McKenzie, Mark Sweany and Andrew Merkel. * Community members Patricia Vance, Scott Armstrong, Tony Reis, and Linda Ames. * Elected officials: District Attorney Mike Ramsey and Sheriff Jerry Smith. * County staff: Butte County Chief Administrative Officer Paul Hahn, County Counsel Bruce Alpert; Director of the Department of Development Services Tim Snellings, assistant county administrator Sang Kim, and Marion Reeves, meeting facilitator. "The meetings (of the ordinance panel) were often long and sometimes heated, but the committee members showed great fortitude and commitment to the task and are to be commended for their hard work," says a report that accompanies the proposed ordinance. The document goes on to say: "The committee members readily acknowledge that the final product is not the ideal ordinance either side would have created for their own interests. "However, they also acknowledge that given the current confusing state of medical marijuana issues at all levels for federal, state and in the courts - the proposed ordinance represents an honest, thoughtful and meaningful attempt to regulate medical marijuana cultivation in Butte County," continues the document. The proposed ordinance allows for only indoor gardens on lots of .4 acre or less, but it doesn't specify a specific maximum number of plants that can be grown indoors. On lots from .4 to 1.5 acres, up to 18 plants can be cultivated. The number of plants allowed, based on acreage, tops out at 99 plants that can be cultivated on lots of 40 acres or larger. Hearing on the proposed ordinance is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the Supervisors Chambers in the county's Administration Building at 25 County Center Drive, Oroville. The regular board meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the same location. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom