Nevada County MMJ Grow Ordinance

[arnold layne]

i wasn't surprised either, i suppose....just kinda hoping.
i think that they took this long to pass it, knowing that there wouldn't be time to get something on the ballot. just kinda seemed dirty (and not the good kind of dirt) all the way around.
i don' think there would be another opportunity for 2 yrs, unless there's a special election (requires more signatures, and costs the county about $100k, i believe).

just got done putting the rest of them out this weekend. i'm hoping we're gonna be lucky enough to get a dose of that "no duty to enforce" clause at the end of the ordinance.


i'll tell ya, i WISH it was all about plant counts for us.
it used to be, and it was fine.
it was more fun when it was 10 per patient, but 6 was doable.
the sq footage thing is what's cramping me.
i can only fit 6 in my allowed 600sq ft, and their "flat plane" thing doesn't really work with our space.

it's gonna be an interesting year, that's for sure.....

 

[MrBlue2]

This really sucks!!!

Complaints fuel medical marijuana compliance checks

Editor’s note: The homeowners targeted by compliance checks have not been identified, as they all are appealing their citations.

It’s the height of the growing season for marijuana growers. And what traditionally is an extremely busy time for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office has become even more so this year now that the department has been tasked with conducting compliance checks to enforce the county’s new cultivation ordinance.

The controversial urgency ordinance was enacted in May by the county’s Board of Supervisors and is intended to regulate legal grows from a nuisance standpoint. The ordinance limits the size of grows depending on zoning, setbacks and plot size and imposes other restrictions such as security fencing.

Since a Nevada County Superior Court judge refused to block the ordinance in late July, the Narcotics Task Force has been ramping up the number of compliance checks and the department has added two full-time deputies to the ordinance detail.


“The Sheriff felt strongly that we needed to get this going,” said Lt. Steve Tripp. “We’ve got two guys now doing nothing but compliance checks. We didn’t want to wait any longer; we wanted to get the ball rolling.”

According to Under-Sheriff Joe Salazar, the Sheriff’s Office has received 180 violation complaints from the public through phone calls and emails, the majority of which came through the anonymous crime tip hotline.

As of Tuesday, the ordinance detail had made 45 site visits and has issued 27 abatement notices and 18 verbal warnings. Two growers elected to self-abate, and one of those turned into a criminal complaint. Of the 27 abatement notices, 11 growers have filed an appeal.

“With the amount of complaints we’ve had, it’s been very hard to keep up,” said a task force spokesman, adding that the number of complaints seems to have increased since the ordinance was implemented. “They’ll call with specific violations, like the lack of a fence, or the smell.”

Checks fueled by complaints

Last week, two task force members spent most of one morning on two compliance checks; Tripp estimated each one could take about 45 minutes.

The task force allegedly had received numerous anonymous complaints regarding the first residence off Highway 49 near Alta Sierra,

“It’s very important to comply with the ordinance,” one deputy told the homeowner. “We’ll check the garden, If you are out of compliance, we’ll serve you with paperwork … Right off the bat, I see a couple of issues. First off, there is absolutely no fencing. There
has to be a security fence with a lock.”

The deputy went on to explain that in order to limit problems with her neighbors, she couldn’t have plants that can be seen from a roadway.

“It just can’t be blatant,” he told her. “I’m guessing you’re over the size limitation.”

Because this particular property was just under four acres, the grow could only be 75 square feet, he told her.

After measuring two separate garden areas and a patio with plants in pots, the deputies informed the property owner that her grow was in excess of 3,000 square feet.

“Can you tell me why this is a nuisance to my neighbors?” the homeowner asked the deputy.

“I’m not here to debate that with you,” he said. “As of now, this is the law of the county … You have five days to come into compliance. Or you can file an appeal with the county, and they’ll set up a hearing for you.”

“Or you’ll huff and you’ll puff and you’ll blow my plants down?” she responded.

“I’ll come out with cutters,” he replied.

Later, the woman speculated on the identity of the complainant, adding that she grows because she is in constant pain from a riding accident.

“This is my medicine,” she said this week. She said she had retained an attorney and will file an appeal.

At the second residence, in Lake of the Pines, the resident was out of compliance because he was growing outdoors on his deck, which is prohibited for a parcel of less than 2 acres.

The tenant, who said he grows for two kidney dialysis patients, already had retained an attorney.

“I’m being extremely quiet and discreet,” he said.

“I don’t know what to do.
I’m not really breaking any laws. I’m not creating a nuisance. This is really nerve wracking to me.”

“We’re not going to arrest you today, and we’re not going to take your plants today,” the deputy reassured him, telling him he could come into compliance or file an appeal.

Both growers complained that they had been unfairly targeted with complaints by neighbors with a beef in what is becoming a common theme among those who have been cited for violating the ordinance.

The neighbor of one medical marijuana grow allegedly turned her in — but not before first sending her a fake abatement letter with Nevada County Sheriff’s Office “letterhead.”

The bogus notice informed her that she was in violation of the cultivation ordinance, as well as state and federal law, and informed her that she was required to immediately abate her marijuana.

“We thought it was real,” said the woman, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“We did pull up some plants.”

The week after the family received the letter — which they reported to law enforcement — deputies did a compliance check on their garden and found it to be out of compliance.

She has since filed an appeal; the neighbor apparently will not face charges.

http://www.theunion.com/news/crime/2584660-113/compliance-checks-ordinance-complaints

 

[GET MO]

So when you file an appeal how long does that take? And do the plants get to stay up during the process?

 

[GET MO]

So how long does an appeal take and do the plants stay in the ground during the process?

 

[mowood3479]

...

 

[mr.shiva]

wow, so forging letterhead from the county as if your the law of the land isn't that big of a deal? Hope that helps the woman with the appeal, definitely shows how bitchy the neighbor is.

“We thought it was real,” said the woman, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“We did pull up some plants.”

The week after the family received the letter — which they reported to law enforcement — deputies did a compliance check on their garden and found it to be out of compliance.

She has since filed an appeal; the neighbor apparently will not face charges.

 

[RidgeRebel]

i know the first person in this article GETMO, hit me up. ill give you the details. the plants are still in the ground and because it has an appeal on it, no judge will issue a warrant for "illegal" activity (not that shes doing anything illegal) until the appeal is resolved. the appeals board is also already tapped so it will be a while, her lawyer says. so chances are her crop is insured to work out now.

**NC residents: Always appeal, even if youre not compliant. it will buy you enough time. and insure against raids.**

 

[RidgeRebel]

oh and because of the ordinance, they are pretty much only focusing on complaints so those who aren't getting complained on should be feeling pretty comfy this year.

 

[SeaMaiden]

The complaint-driven process was expected to get like this. It's just such an awesome way for neighbors to get back at each other, and clearly, there are those who just cannot resist. Never mind that the neighbor they're targeting is fighting for their life, just never fucking you mind THAT!

 

[FreedomGrower]

Yeah not sure this is going to fly forever ... I however could see since I grew up around here ... that they think this is more than fair ...

http://www.theunion.com/news/2584660-113/compliance-checks-ordinance-complaints

first abatement; seems pritty lame
http://www.theunion.com/news/2958862-113/county-ordinance-deputies-marijuana

 

[FreedomGrower]

Several legal challenges against Nevada County’s medical marijuana cultivation ordinance currently are under way in both county and federal court. But that’s of little consolation to the growers who have been served with abatement notices from the Nevada County Sheriff’s marijuana ordinance enforcement team. As of Nov. 1, the team — which has been responding to marijuana cultivation nuisance complaints since the controversial ordinance was passed by the county Board of Supervisors May 8 — had issued 85 notices to abate. And far from wrapping it up, Sheriff Keith Royal has decided to extend the enforcement team’s activities “indefinitely,” said …

http://www.theunion.com/news/3138189-113/county-ordinance-court-munkelt

http://www.theunion.com/news/3066908-113/marijuana-ordinance-county-abatement
Despite the recent spate of rainy weather, the marijuana season is far from wrapping up — and that means the Nevada County Sheriff’s marijuana ordinance enforcement team is “staying busy,” said Lt. Steve Tripp.
The team still is serving abatement warrants on gardens that have been found to be out of compliance with the county’s new cultivation ordinance,
“In fact, they served one or two this afternoon,” Tripp said Friday. “People aren’t even harvesting yet. They’re still growing. They will get as close to the end of November as they possibly can. They’re just covering the plants. They’re pushing their luck; they want to have as much yield as possible.”
Tripp noted that it’s not
uncommon for growers in Nevada County to harvest at the end of November if the weather holds up.
“With the weather being bad on and off, with that big cold rain, I thought they would be harvesting,” he said. “But the guys are still working (on abatements).”
The team, which consists of members of the narcotics task force as well as Sgt. Ray Kress and Deputy Mark Hollitz, has been responding to marijuana cultivation nuisance complaints since the controversial ordinance was passed by the county Board of Supervisors May 8.
The ordinance is intended to regulate legal grows from a nuisance standpoint; it limits the size of grows depending on zoning, setbacks and plot size and imposes other restrictions, such as security fencing.
After a Nevada County Superior Court judge refused to block the ordinance in late July, the Narcotics Task Force ramped up the number of compliance checks and the department added two full-time deputies to the ordinance detail.
On Friday, Sheriff Keith Royal released the statistics on the enforcement actions taken by his team in the nearly six months since the passage of the ordinance.
His office has received 294 citizen complaints concerning marijuana nuisance to date, he said.
The team has issued 85 notices to abate, according to statistics provided by Kress. As a result of the compliance checks, the marijuana enforcement team has made 16 arrests, served four civil abatement warrants and served two criminal search warrants.
The team seized 214 plants in the four civil abatements; 158 plants, numerous pounds of processed marijuana and $30,000 in cash were seized in the two criminal warrant searches.
The team has investigated two marijuana drug-endangered child cases and referred eight cases to Nevada County Code Compliance for follow-up investigations.
In a sign that Nevada County has become known worldwide for its marijuana, the Sheriff’s Office noted that foreign nationals from 11 different countries had been detained during the investigations.
Prior to this year, the Sheriff’s Office did not keep track of how many complaints it received. But Tripp said there did seem to be a jump this year.
“I think we received a lot more because people are aware of the ordinance,” he said.”Now people know they can do something about the nuisance.”
Tripp said that despite the lengthy discussions about the ordinance in the months leading up to its passage, the team did not find a single grower who had made efforts to bring their gardens into compliance.
“I don’t think the majority of people took it seriously that we weren’t going to be out there enforcing it,” he said. “Even after they were served with an abatement notice. We gave people the opportunity to come into compliance and they weren’t doing it.”
Tripp emphasized that the enforcement team was not trying to stop people from growing marijuana legally.
“We’re trying to find the fine line between the legal right to grow and your neighbor’s right to quality of life,” he said. “We’re just trying to have everybody co-exist … Stay within the guidelines and you won’t be impacted.”
Tripp expressed frustration with those who “take advantage” of the legal right to grow marijuana in order to turn a profit.
“The public might be surprised at the fact that we came across just two people with verifiable employment,” he said.
“How are they making a living if they’re not selling their marijuana?”
As of Nov. 1, 29 growers who had been served with abatement notices had filed appeals with the county. One was closed by the Sheriff’s Office because it had been filed incorrectly, and one appeal request was denied because it was filed late.
So far, 13 decisions have been issued — six abatement notices were upheld and six appeals received mixed rulings. Only one appeal has been granted so far. Five decisions remain pending, and nine hearings have been scheduled for Nov. 14 and Nov. 16.
Nevada City attorney Stephen Munkelt, who has been handling many of the appeals, earlier this week filed a motion to halt the abatement process, but that was denied in Nevada County Superior Court Friday morning.
Munkelt said he had filed a writ that asked the court to review whether there was an abuse of discretion or a violation of the law by the county in enforcing the ordinance.
He also had filed the motion for the court to grant a stay of the abatement process, until a ruling was made.
Nevada County’s counsel, however, has requested that the matter be transferred to federal court, he said.
Visiting Judge Ersel Edwards agreed to not take action at this time but did not exclude other remedies, Munkelt said.
Nevada County’s request is predicated on the fact that this is a constitutional issue and, thus, should be heard in federal court, he explained, adding that he is unsure if we will file a challenge.
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, email [email protected] or call (530) 477-4229.

 

[FreedomGrower]

Ordinance enforcement by the numbers
294 complaints by citizens concerning nuisance gardens
85 notices to abate
16 arrests
11 countries of origin for foreign nationals detained while processing marijuana (Canada, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, Israel, England, Italy)
8 referrals to code compliance for code violations
4 civil abatement warrants served (seizing 214 plants)
2 criminal search warrants (seizing 158 plants, numerous pounds of processed marijuana and around $30,000)
2 drug-endangered child cases
2 persons with verifiable employment
0 gardens found in compliance
0 uses of force


Holy shit ... all I have to say is they if fuck with me next year for my garden compliment to there standards they will bring a world of pain towards themselves ...

http://www.theunion.com/opinion/3145770-113/ordinance-county-cultivation-cannabis
The attitude displayed by Cultivation Code Compliance officers in Saturday’s edition of The Union, “NCSO Receives Nearly 300 Complaints Since Passage of Marijuana Ordinance,” reveals the underlying contempt the department has for the rights of medical marijuana patients and the law itself. Although an alleged 294 complaints were received, only 85 citations were issued, which could lead one to surmise that most of the complaints were baseless. The department’s attitude is evidenced in part by their reaction to the much publicized case of Southgate v Johnson. The Southgate’s faked a cultivation code citation that appeared to have originated from Sheriff …

http://asa-nc.com/mmj-patients-second-class-citizens-in-nevada-county/120697/

 

[FreedomGrower]

http://www.theunion.com/news/4255337-113/county-asa-cannabis-medical

Americans for Safe Access-Nevada County will meet from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss plans to launch a voter initiative to strike down the county’s medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. The meeting will be at the Nevada County Contractor’s Association, 149 Crown Point Court. The meeting is free to members. To accommodate everyone’s schedule, a second monthly meeting has been added on the North San Juan Ridge. These meetings will take place on the last Sunday of the month at the North San Juan Senior Center beginning Jan. 27, from 2-4 p.m. The agenda for this month’s meetings will cover updates …

 

[SeaMaiden]

Nice. Thanks for posting that.

 

[Cartel530]

Any updates on this?

 

[SeaMaiden]

The meeting posted about above won't be happening for almost another week. It's the 27th.

 

[FreedomGrower]

Sunday, January 27, 2013, 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Americans for Safe Access- Nevada County will hold a general membership meeting from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the NSJ Senior Center. For a map and directions, please visit our website, http://www.asa-nc.com. We will have an update on the Cultivation Ordinance and how our lawsuit is making its way through the legal system. We will discuss the upcoming growing season and the efforts we will take to revert to CA State growing guidelines of six plants per qualified patient.

This meeting is open to MEMBERS ONLY as will will discuss our strategies for defeating the Cultivation Ordinance. You can join at the door if you are not a member yet. Annual dues are only $35 and that money goes to the National ASA to fight the legal battles that ensure all of our rights. It's truly the best $35 dollars you'll ever spend.

Joe Axtell of Monsta Grow will give a short seminar on magnetic induction lights. The manufacturers represent these lights have many advantages over MH or HPS systems; primarily their low energy requirements that equate to huge cost savings for you. Because these lights produce 60% less heat, air conditioning is not required to control the room temperature - and mold problems are virtually eliminated. Magnetic Induction lights mimic the sun by providing full spectrum light to your plants and eliminate the need to switch from HPS to MH between the vegetative and flowering cycles. The bulbs are guaranteed for ten years. ASA-NC members will receive a substantial discount on these lights.

Why is this important? Because we believe that soon cities across the state will follow Arcata's lead and adopt a punitive surcharge on high-volume RESIDENTIAL energy users. (Arcata has passed a 45% energy surcharge aimed at indoor growers.)




Penn Valley Town Hall Meeting

SAVE THE DATE: Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 6:30 pm

The fifth annual Penn Valley Town Hall meeting will be hosted by Supervisor Hank Weston at the Seventh Day Adventist Church (across from the Post Office). Sheriff Royal will be on hand to discuss the Cultivation Ordinance and to sell how "successful" it has been. If you'd like to ask the Sheriff a question about the Ordinance, this is your opportunity. Please be respectful when addressing officials in public. You'll score more points by simply asking a straight-forward question.

Check out calendar for upcoming events: http://www.asa-nc.com

 

[FreedomGrower]

I have free seeds for those that donate .... !!!

 

[FreedomGrower]

Sheriff Royal Rejects Mediation

Sheriff Royal indicated that the Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance ultimately "will have to be decided by the courts" during his comments at the Penn Valley Town Hall meeting last night. He rejected outright the Yuba County ordinance that our attorney, Jeff Lake, successfully negotiated to the satisfaction of County officials and cultivators alike.

All in all, his remarks were pretty tame, but I believe it was the presence of ASA-NC members in the audience kept him honest. We did glean some valuable information that we will use in upcoming campaigns. For instance, Sheriff Royal revealed that the dispatch center received a total of 102,000 calls for service during 2012 . Only 300 were complaints about marijuana! And only 93 of those calls triggered a visit by enforcement officers. Doesn't seem like it's the major problem they are trying to paint. (Even though that was 93 visits too many in our humble opinion.)

ASA-NC will continue to fight for YOUR right to cultivate cannabis according to CA State rules. February 11 - 17 is MMJ week and we plan to raise some awareness about how the Ordinance is restricting safe access to medicinal grade cannabis for patients in Nevada County. We hope you will come out and support our work. It's going to take the concentrated efforts of our community to replace this Ordinance with something that is fair.

We've got a lot of work ahead of us before the start of the next grow season!!!

 

[FreedomGrower]

National Medical Marijuana Day is on Feb 15 (in honor of Prop 215). ASA will be hosting a free screening of the provocative film, “What If Cannabis Cured Cancer,” followed by some NC residents who have successfully treated their cancers using tinctures.

February 11 - 17th is National Medical Marijuana Week and we have got some great events planned to remind people that
patients are suffering out there because of the Cultivation Ordinance. We are running a very touching ad in the Union from Feb 11 - 16 to raise public awareness. ASA recognizes that a patient’s first line of defense starts with cultivators. It’s simple: No cultivators, no medicine.
As you probably know, our attorney, Jeff Lake successfully negotiated a Cultivation Ordinance in Yuba County that is considered “the most liberal in California.” We are trying to persuade our Board of Supervisors to take a similar approach rather than continuing our lawsuit. We should have a response soon.

In the meantime, we will continue unabated with our efforts to replace the Ordinance. We held a training on Feb. 5 to teach our volunteers how to conduct a telephone survey. We plan on reaching over 1,000 registered voters in Nevada Co to get their opinions on a wide range of cannabis cultivation related issues. We will use this information to judge whether we have enough support to launch an initiative. I think we do.

I hate to nag, but we really have to raise some more money for our lawyer. We’ve done a really good job to date, but the expenses keep mounting. Jeff sent me an email that indicated he would appreciate getting our account brought up to date. We will have four donation locations set up on Feb 15 at Briarpatch Co-op, Mother Truckers, HomeTown Hydroponics and Sweetland Nursery. Please stop by and donate what you can. We really only have two choices: Give up and go home or keep fighting.

The people in Butte County fought back against their Ordinance and got their BOS to overturn their own Ordinance once enough signatures were collected to force a special election. Itwould cost Nevada County approximately $250,000. to hold a special election, so we are hopeful that our combined efforts will win the day . The point is, if you don’t fight back, there is no way you can win.