Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2014 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 Aylworth BUTTE BOARD APPROVED FUNDING FOR POT GARDEN RULES ENFORCEMENT OROVILLE - Butte County's supervisors Tuesday gave their unanimous approval to a $446,500 experiment on controlling medical marijuana production. During the regular board meeting, Director of Development Services Tim Snellings outlined for supervisors a program called "Stay in the Box, Learn the Facts." The program relates to an ordinance passed by the board in February putting limits on medical marijuana gardens. Instead of limiting the number of plants that can be grown, the February rule put strict limits on the physical size of the grow. On a lot larger than a half-acre the grow can cover 50 square-feet. On a parcel larger than five acres the plot can cover no more 100 square-feet, and on a parcel larger than 10 acres the maximum garden is 150 square-feet. But there's another size limitation: The plants can't extend beyond the edges of the garden. They must grow within an imaginary box, which is the significance of Snellings' "Stay in the Box" reference. Besides the limited garden sizes, the ordinance allows anybody regardless of where they live to report a violation, and the reporters need not even identify themselves. The ordinance was put to a referendum challenge. It went on the ballot as Measure A in November and it was approved by roughly 60 percent of the voters. The ordinance goes into effect Jan. 8, 2015, and that's why Snelling came to the board with a two-pronged proposal that involves an outreach, public education program, coupled with a strict enforcement effort. Along with those two elements, Snellings was asking for the $446,500 additional budget allocation to pay for the effort. The education effort will include brochures, billboards, and community meetings. Sneeling said people can also get details on the rules by calling his office at 538-6000 or by visiting the county website at www.buttecounty.net/stayinthebox. When complaints come in the county intends to launch a quick-response effort. Part of the additional funding will be spent on "extra help" county code enforcement officers, who, accompanied by a sheriff's deputy, will visit the site. Snellings said if there is visible violation of the cultivation code, the grower will be issued a citation, which immediately comes with a $500 fine. The code enforcement officer will give the grower 72 hours to comply. If things haven't been corrected, there's a $1,000-a-day fine, and nuisance abatement proceedings are initiated. The goal, according to the department head, is to get people to comply with the ordinance. Money from the fines will go into the county's General Fund. The cultivation ordinance is a land use regulation, and does not come with criminal penalties. Nobody really knows how this will all shake out. "This is just the beginning a great experiment," said Paul Hahn, Butte County's chief administrative officer. The supervisors were told they would be receiving regular reports on how the ordinance is working. They voted unanimously to approve the funding request and the information and enforcement plan. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom