Nevada County MMJ Grow Ordinance

[arnold layne]

Arnold, our county BoS directed staff to use ordinances already drafted and that county counsel could show have withstood legal challenge. They wanted to give off the odor of sympathy for patients by allowing *some* OD cultivation, but they actually wanted to go Kern Co's route and outlaw it entirely. They declared it a per se public nuisance in the ordinance, as well.

The final ordinance was cherry-picked from Mendocino Co's ordinance, with no allowance for collectives, cooperatives, or store-front dispensaries, and a top limit of 24 plants. For which we're supposed to feel grateful (they said so themselves!).

i wish they were being as "liberal" as your county....i can make a lot of medicine with 24 plants....but they decided that sq footage was the way to go, and only gave a max of 1000sq ft for parcels over 20ac. granted, our garden is spaced pretty well, but i'd guess last year's was closer to 20k sq ft.
no way to really operate our collective with that little space.

Placed in what section of county code? In our county it's in the planning and use (i.e. zoning) section of code. They have an enforcement section as well that is referred to. I have not yet read in full Nevada Co's codes.

I am assuming it's a zoning ordinance in which they are declaring per se public nuisance because the only pertinent place to *put* the ordinance in the first place is in zoning, planning and use.

it was put into the general code, and during the bos meeting, the county counsel was very clear in stating that it was not a land use or zoning ord.

I'm curious how the local sheriff, et alia, feel about this additional workload being placed upon them.

it was his baby, and he was all smiles and chuckles as they were passing it.

Also, how can they legally state that any employee may simply enter a property without cause? Simply to take a look-see is how I'm interpreting it, and there is not only no legal basis for that, it may in fact conflict directly with state (and federal?) law.

There is a LOT of code that would have to be pored over to make that determination, but I know factually that in instances of zoning ordinance enforcement, those officials are limited by state law to only what they can see from the public right of way.

i'm guessing that they'll do the flyovers as they have every year, but now when they see a garden with too much sq footage, no fences, terraced gardens (specifically states gardens are to be on a single plane), etc, they can mail the property owner a notice to abate, and if it's not done within 5 days, they do it for ya.
i'm also imagining that evidence gathered from flyovers will be enough pc to go onto the property, as a 20k sq ft garden is clearly in violation of the ord.
they also stated that it would be considered adequate notice to post the abatement order on a fence or post outside of your property (nice of them to let everyone know what you're up to).

I see it more as a concession to LE and others who likely already have a shit-ton of work on their plates as it is. That was a huge issue in this county and our undersheriff stated as much--that state law that they're interested in is already in place, that they are not the body to enforce zoning code or anything other than criminal/vehicle code, and most salient, that the proposed restrictions would do nothing to abate the criminal grows they actually intend to impact, but will affect those already doing their best to grow legally.

that's the thing...it's not that they're trying to affect just the criminal grows, but they are trying to limit how much medicine we can produce, legal by state law or not.
the sheriff told the bos that the reason he went with sq footage as opposed to plant counts, and that whole 25gal pot thing, is because ppl up here can grow 20ft plants (i've always been happy with 10 footers).
he also said that if a plant grows over a fence's height, the top of the plant needs to be cut off so it's not visible.
in any event, and as i said, this was all the doing of the sheriff. his ordinance, his arguments, his way.

For example, how are they going to get inside someone's home without a warrant? Look into the stuff the City of Oakland's building services department has pulled and the civil grand jury report that came out last year about their practices. It's a great example; they went to my sister and told her that they wanted to go inside her home and property in order to basically create a shopping list of violations. Obviously, if she's in violation, she must abate. And from there the charges began to rack up at an unbelievable scale.

In many cases they succeeded, but with my sister they encountered a fucking pit bull. It's taken her just over 3yrs to see it through, but a lot of changes have taken place due to her work in uncovering what they were doing, and I feel, many feel, that it is specifically that which led to Jerry Brown abolishing redevelopment agencies throughout the state.

they discussed that at the bos meeting, and it was determined that a fire official or building insp didn;t need a warrant to do a compliance check, so it would work the same way. as for the outdoor grows, as i said, a pic from a plane is all they need to prove a garden is out of compliance. i can see my garden quite clearly with google (funny how they used a pic from fall of last year for their sat image of my area)...i'm sure the sheriff can see it too.

i hope all worked out well for your sister. i would be worried that they'd see a pitbull and decide it's time for target practice.
one of the biggest fears i have about leo coming onto our property is that they'll see our dogs (1 is 1/2 pit/akita, and 2 that are 1/2 pit and wolf) and decide to shoot. i've read so many horror stories about that kind of stuff, that i am in constant fear for the safety of our dogs.

all in all, i don;'t see this as a permanent situation. ppl are gonna go broke, stores are gonna close, and i imagine that more than a couple of ppl will decide it's time to pull the glassware out of storage....so i believe that the citizens will pass their own initiative.
unfortunately, it will be 2 yrs before we can put it on a ballot w/o calling a special election.

i just really hope that they do exercise discretion, and don't mess with the established gardens that have never had any complaints against them. i don't really plan on doing anything differently than i've always done until i'm told i have to. we take care of ppl who for whatever reason can't take care of themselves, and i feel it's pretty screwed up of the sheriff to put us in a position where that is unlawful to do, especially since we've never been a nuisance or problem to anyone. hell, many of our neighbors are in the same boat, and we tend to collaborate with each other, not complain about each other.

i just wish they wouldn't try to fix that which isn't broken.

 

[stasis]

Oldster Land Owners. People who inherited land - businesses or both...
They are the problem.

Most of us are living in houses that are not paid off. Or are rented.. There just ain;t much (regular) work in Rural NorCal... So we carry on.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Stasis, ain't much work is an understatement. In the tri-county area suicide rates are far above state averages, and much of this is being attributed to the lack of work and its tertiary effects. Homelessness, requests for state aid, all the bad things are UP UP UP. So let's make it so people can't even take care of their own medication needs. Just awesome.

i wish they were being as "liberal" as your county....i can make a lot of medicine with 24 plants....but they decided that sq footage was the way to go, and only gave a max of 1000sq ft for parcels over 20ac. granted, our garden is spaced pretty well, but i'd guess last year's was closer to 20k sq ft.
no way to really operate our collective with that little space.


it was put into the general code, and during the bos meeting, the county counsel was very clear in stating that it was not a land use or zoning ord.


it was his baby, and he was all smiles and chuckles as they were passing it.


i'm guessing that they'll do the flyovers as they have every year, but now when they see a garden with too much sq footage, no fences, terraced gardens (specifically states gardens are to be on a single plane), etc, they can mail the property owner a notice to abate, and if it's not done within 5 days, they do it for ya.
i'm also imagining that evidence gathered from flyovers will be enough pc to go onto the property, as a 20k sq ft garden is clearly in violation of the ord.
they also stated that it would be considered adequate notice to post the abatement order on a fence or post outside of your property (nice of them to let everyone know what you're up to).


that's the thing...it's not that they're trying to affect just the criminal grows, but they are trying to limit how much medicine we can produce, legal by state law or not.
the sheriff told the bos that the reason he went with sq footage as opposed to plant counts, and that whole 25gal pot thing, is because ppl up here can grow 20ft plants (i've always been happy with 10 footers).
he also said that if a plant grows over a fence's height, the top of the plant needs to be cut off so it's not visible.
in any event, and as i said, this was all the doing of the sheriff. his ordinance, his arguments, his way.




they discussed that at the bos meeting, and it was determined that a fire official or building insp didn;t need a warrant to do a compliance check, so it would work the same way. as for the outdoor grows, as i said, a pic from a plane is all they need to prove a garden is out of compliance. i can see my garden quite clearly with google (funny how they used a pic from fall of last year for their sat image of my area)...i'm sure the sheriff can see it too.

i hope all worked out well for your sister. i would be worried that they'd see a pitbull and decide it's time for target practice.
one of the biggest fears i have about leo coming onto our property is that they'll see our dogs (1 is 1/2 pit/akita, and 2 that are 1/2 pit and wolf) and decide to shoot. i've read so many horror stories about that kind of stuff, that i am in constant fear for the safety of our dogs.

all in all, i don;'t see this as a permanent situation. ppl are gonna go broke, stores are gonna close, and i imagine that more than a couple of ppl will decide it's time to pull the glassware out of storage....so i believe that the citizens will pass their own initiative.
unfortunately, it will be 2 yrs before we can put it on a ballot w/o calling a special election.

i just really hope that they do exercise discretion, and don't mess with the established gardens that have never had any complaints against them. i don't really plan on doing anything differently than i've always done until i'm told i have to. we take care of ppl who for whatever reason can't take care of themselves, and i feel it's pretty screwed up of the sheriff to put us in a position where that is unlawful to do, especially since we've never been a nuisance or problem to anyone. hell, many of our neighbors are in the same boat, and we tend to collaborate with each other, not complain about each other.

i just wish they wouldn't try to fix that which isn't broken.

Wow! I am astonished, just ASTONISHED. The sheriff is an elected position, as is each and every supervisor's position. Patients were, by all reports, fairly well represented.

Your concern for your dogs is quite valid. I will only briefly relay some of the things that my sister has suffered since taking on the city.
The anonymous phone calls were nothing compared to the truck and the dog.

3x attempts to torch her truck, 3rd time was the charm. OPD, despite surveillance video and witnesses, said there was no evidence of wrongdoing, so impounded the truck then never looked it over, had it destroyed and charged her for the service.

Border collie, Reba, shot dead in front of her house by a CHP officer who let the dog out of the fenced and gated yard. Now, he may not have had anything to do with Oakland or OPD, but I'm more skeptical than that.

I'm still astonished at the lengths to which these county supes have gone, the laws they're going to have to directly flout, and the collective foot they've just shot straight through.

 

[skilly]

there is a group that has started the process of recruiting a new sheriff , DA and BOS ... they were voted in they WILL be voted out ..

the bigger problem here is that sheriff royals and the DA have been working directly with the irs ... basically survailing grow sites for a number o years then passing the info to the irs who then rape the home owner/ grower ..

statute of limitation is how they are doing it ... they have been busting smaller growers here using this if they see assets to be taken . 30 plants each year for 5 years in over the 99 plant threshold .. already this year a few have fallen to this .. it's worse than most know ..

it scares me far more hearing them take down small 30 plant grows than the big commercial grows ..

everyone i know up here says fuck them im doing what i always have ..

 

[heady blunts]

wtf.

tagged so I can keep up on this topic.

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

The fact that this ordinance bans any growing in a human residence pretty much bans most personal indoor medical grows. This is so contrary to the original intent of Prop 215 that it will be shot down in court.

 

[GET MO]

Did this pass?

 

[GET MO]

Fuck... I just read about it. But this is a civil matter right? meaning no serious charges for breaking these rules will come about? only fines?

 

[arnold layne]

Wow! I am astonished, just ASTONISHED. The sheriff is an elected position, as is each and every supervisor's position. Patients were, by all reports, fairly well represented.

Your concern for your dogs is quite valid. I will only briefly relay some of the things that my sister has suffered since taking on the city.
The anonymous phone calls were nothing compared to the truck and the dog.

3x attempts to torch her truck, 3rd time was the charm. OPD, despite surveillance video and witnesses, said there was no evidence of wrongdoing, so impounded the truck then never looked it over, had it destroyed and charged her for the service.

Border collie, Reba, shot dead in front of her house by a CHP officer who let the dog out of the fenced and gated yard. Now, he may not have had anything to do with Oakland or OPD, but I'm more skeptical than that.

I'm still astonished at the lengths to which these county supes have gone, the laws they're going to have to directly flout, and the collective foot they've just shot straight through.

the growers were well represented, and one of the supes even noted that it appeared that 60-70% were supporting less regulation, but he voted for that pos anyway.

that is absolutely insane about your sis. i can't stand dirty cops, and it sounds like they have been quite fixated on her.
shooting a border collie? makes about as much sense as tazing a 12yo kid for acting up in class.
it's been saddening to see how police tactics have developed (or is it devolved?) over the last several years. the militarization, and shoot first ethic, is a sickening trend. i really hope something shifts soon, or something's gonna pop.

there is a group that has started the process of recruiting a new sheriff , DA and BOS ... they were voted in they WILL be voted out ..

the bigger problem here is that sheriff royals and the DA have been working directly with the irs ... basically survailing grow sites for a number o years then passing the info to the irs who then rape the home owner/ grower ..

statute of limitation is how they are doing it ... they have been busting smaller growers here using this if they see assets to be taken . 30 plants each year for 5 years in over the 99 plant threshold .. already this year a few have fallen to this .. it's worse than most know ..

it scares me far more hearing them take down small 30 plant grows than the big commercial grows ..

everyone i know up here says fuck them im doing what i always have ..

i'll be keeping my eye out for some fresh choices. i had high hopes for weston.....he seemed to side with us during the bos meeting, but then he voted for it. you would think that having nsj in his district would be reason enough to vote against it....but i suppose that serving those that elected him wasn't as important as the gold star sticker that keith gave him. i won't be sad to see him go.

i knew that newell (da) and royal had been kicking some cases to the dea....especially if the garden was compliant under state law and therefore untouchable at the county/state level......and i do recall hearing about them working with the irs when they took charlie down, but this is the 1st i've heard of them stacking years worth of grows under the statute of limitations to break the 99 plant threshold. that is just sickening....dirty pool in the clearest sense of the term.
i would love to see royal replaced by someone like tom allman. sure, mendo may have caved in to the feds, but from what i understand, allman was at least sympathetic to our cause (or, perhaps more accurately, willing to work with us).
i would like to see newell replaced by pretty much anyone. he seems to have a hardon for cultivators....and needs to go.
i would also be worrying that the new ord would play well with their tactic of stacking grows. coming onto a property to serve an abatement notice would be a great opportunity to catalog assets, and deciding if it was worth turning over to the irs.
dirty pool......

i'm thinking that we're going to proceed as normal as well. too late to tear apart our boxes and rebuild....not that i would even want to.
i just really wish that they would play fair on the local level, and that our "fearless" leader would grow a set at the federal level.
it's well beyond time for this mess to go away.

 

[arnold layne]

Fuck... I just read about it. But this is a civil matter right? meaning no serious charges for breaking these rules will come about? only fines?

not even fines, from what i understand.
they notify the property owner that the garden is out of compliance, and spell out what steps need to be taken to fix it, then give ya 5 days to take care of it yourself. if it's not remedied, then they come in and do it for ya, and charge for all costs incurred in the abatement.

it's definitely a civil thing, and not a criminal thing.

 

[SeaMaiden]

The DEA, locals, et alia, are one thing. The IRS is another game entirely.

 

[sanvanalona]

The DEA, locals, et alia, are one thing. The IRS is another game entirely.

Yeah like my lawyer always says, " you understand that they won two world wars and print their own money right?' Watch out for those feds!

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

^the federal reserve prints our money and they are a private bank that the IRS ca not legally audit. wtf eh? the federal reserve banks are the true controllers of the world, and it is no conspiracy. Follow chain of power. When people and corporations need help they go to the government. when the government needs help they go to the federal reserve banks.

 

[sanvanalona]

Great quotes Hash Zeppelin and I agree wholeheartedly!

 

[eurasian_farmer]

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whSYTSXm8wo

 

[cchem]

this might help combat the commie bastards!
http://safeaccessnow.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=9448

I doubt it because fed law bans all grows and med in general and this will override any challenge as has already occurred in several cases - e.g.

* In October 2011, San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager said it was permissible for landlords to evict medical marijuana dispensary owning tenants based on, "Cities ... are the arbiter of zoning laws," and, "There's no place in the city of San Diego…where a medical marijuana dispensary is a permissible use. It is therefore illegal."


ASA may just find that throwing law suits at counties that crack down on med grows results in blow back where suddenly Ca counties will just say hey we need to respect fed law because 215 has been widely abused. Looks like the scene has taken one step forward and 3 steps backwards. Legalization was and is the only answer but then that isn't an option in Ca for a very long time.

I wonder how many on these boards now whining about the crack down in Ca voted no against Prop 19? Seems to me Med Pharma is now getting its Karma (sorry to all those who were in favor of legalization but surely med growers knew that something had to give with the joke med has become).

 

[ghettochild]

Bullshit

 

[supermanlives]

all i can say is wow and stay safe guys . if the cops shoot my dogs they are gonna have to shoot me too. i love my dogs

 

[arnold layne]

aaannnnndddd....
the tro was denied.
as of now, the new ordinance stands.
bummer, i was really hoping things would go our way today.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Sorry to read that, Arnold, though at this point I'm not surprised. No time to get a measure on the ballot even though it's a county that would show wide support for it. Next year...?

This plant count thing is seriously cramping my style, not to mention my methods.