Crescent City Planning Commission Meeting

CITY OF CRESCENT CITY PLANNING COMMISSION AND ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE Commission Members: Ray Altman, Chairperson Holly Greene, Vice-Chairperson • Brad Kime • John Wendt • Ray Walp Incorporated April 13, 1854 web: www.crescentcity.org Special Meeting Thursday, November 14th, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Board Chambers, 981 “H” Street, Suite 100, Crescent City, CA AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: II. PUBLIC COMMENT: The public may address the Planning Commission on any item of interest that is within the Commission’s subject matter jurisdiction or that appears on the agenda. The Commission is not able to discuss extensively or act on any items that do not appear on the agenda. After receiving recognition by the Chairperson, please state your name and city or county residency for the record. Public comment is limited to three (3) minutes or other reasonable limitations specified by the Chairperson on particular topics or individual speakers (Gov’t Code §54954.3(b)). III. CONSENT CALENDAR: None. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None. V. ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW: None. VI. CONTINUING BUSINESS: VI A. At the October 10, 2019 Planning Commission meeting, the Commission reviewed the draft revisions to the City’s Municipal Code to include regulations for commercial cannabis uses. At the meeting, the Commission directed staff to research and bring back information and recommendations for regulating small cannabis cultivation operations. VII. NEW BUSINESS: None. VII. REPORTS, CONCERNS, REFERRALS: In accordance with Gov’t Code §54954.2(a)(2), PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Planning Commissioners or staff may briefly respond to public comment, make brief announcements or reports, or ask questions for clarification. Planning Commissioners or the Commission may also direct staff to report back on any matter at a subsequent meeting or to place a matter of business on a future agenda. IX. ADJOURNMENT: Adjourn to the regular meeting of the City of Crescent City Planning Commission and Architectural Review Committee. Next scheduled for Thursday December 12th, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. at the Flynn Center, 981 H Street, Crescent City, CA 95531 POSTED: November 12th,2019 By: Heather Welton Planning Secretary/Office Technician PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA  Crescent City Planning Commission November 14th, 2019 Staff Report Agenda Item# VI-A Project: Commercial Cannabis Ordinance Direction from Planning Commission at the October 10, 2019 Meeting At the October 10, 2019 Planning Commission meeting, the Commission reviewed the draft revisions to the City’s Municipal Code to include regulations for commercial cannabis uses. At the meeting, the Commission took the following actions and provided the following direction to staff: • The Commission voted unanimously to recommend allowing commercial cannabis uses in the Downtown Business (C-1) and Waterfront Commercial (CW) zoning districts, in addition to allowing these uses in the Highway Service (HS) and General Commercial (C-2) zoning districts. • The Commission voted unanimously to recommend the draft commercial cannabis regulations to the City Council, including allowing commercial cannabis uses in the C-1 and CW zoning districts. • The Commission directed staff to research and bring back information and recommendations for regulating small cannabis cultivation operations. Based on the action taken by the Commission at the October meeting, staff has drafted proposed revisions to the C-1 and CW zoning districts to allow certain commercial cannabis uses with a Use Permit. Based on the direction received from the Planning Commission at the October meeting, staff has researched cultivation regulations and drafted some recommendations for regulating small cultivation operations in the City. This special meeting is being held to allow the Commission to review and consider these recommendations. In addition to regulations for small cultivation operations, staff also requests for the Commission to consider whether to allow processing facilities that process cannabis material produced offsite. At the conclusion of this agenda item, it is requested that the Commission formulate a recommendation to the City Council related to these issues. Recommended Regulations for Small Cultivation Operations Based on the direction received from the Planning Commission at the October meeting, below are recommendations for regulating small cannabis cultivation operations. These recommendations address the definitions of cannabis cultivation, nursery, and cultivation area, allowable cultivation area, and operating standards for cannabis cultivation. Definition of Cultivation The current definition of “cultivation” that is included in the draft cannabis regulations reviewed by the Commission at the October meeting is the following: “Cultivation shall mean the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of cannabis.” There are a variety of definitions of cannabis cultivation that are used by jurisdictions throughout the State. Based on a review of these definitions, staff recommends the following definition: 1 "Cannabis cultivation includes any activity involving the indoor planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of commercial cannabis, including a nursery that produces only clones, immature plants, or seeds. This definition does not include outdoor cultivation or the processing (e.g., trimming) of commercial cannabis produced offsite.” This definition includes nurseries and the processing of cannabis material that is produced onsite as activities that are allowed as part of commercial cannabis cultivation activity. This definition also specifically states that commercial cannabis cultivation does not include outdoor cultivation or the processing of commercial cannabis produced offsite. Based on this definition, an applicant would be able to obtain a Use Permit for commercial cannabis cultivation that would allow them to cultivate and process (e.g., trimming) commercial cannabis material and operate a nursery that produces only clones, immature plants, or seeds. Definition of Nursery Staff recommends the following definition for a “cannabis nursery”: “Cannabis nursery means a facility that produces only clones, immature plants, seeds, and other agricultural products used specifically for the propagation and cultivation of cannabis.” Definition of Cultivation Area There are a variety of ways of identifying or defining the cultivation area that are used by jurisdictions throughout the State. Some of these relate to the area of vegetative canopy, the area of growing beds (excluding pathways), or the size of the room where the cultivation occurs. Based on a review of these definitions, staff recommends the following definition: “The cultivation area for commercial cannabis shall be the cumulative gross floor area of the room or rooms where cannabis plants are grown.” Cultivation Area Allowed As staff discussed at the October meeting, a microbusiness license from the State allows a licensee to engage in the cultivation of cannabis in an area less than 10,000 square feet. However, the Commission indicated a preference for limiting the allowable cultivation area to something significantly smaller. Staff reviewed cannabis regulations for jurisdictions that also desired to place stricter limitations on allowable cultivation area. These limitations were often desired to prevent cannabis cultivation from becoming the primary commercial cannabis activity conducted in the jurisdiction. It was observed that these jurisdictions typically allowed a cultivation area of 4,000 square feet or less. They also often times would limit the percentage of the total building floor area used for cultivation per parcel or require that other cannabis-related activities be included (e.g., non-volatile manufacturing, research and development, testing lab, etc.), if cultivation was proposed. Some jurisdictions and state agencies also provide streamlined permitting processes for smaller cultivation operations (e.g., 2,000 - 3,000 square feet or less) that meet certain criteria. These are referred to as small cultivation sites, micro-cultivation, specialty cottage, artisanal, etc. Based on the research conducted by staff, and the Commission’s comments on this issue at the October meeting, staff is recommending that the cultivation area allowed be 2,000 square feet or less. Based on the above recommended definition of “cultivation area,” this would allow an applicant to cultivate in a cumulative gross floor area of 2,000 square feet. It is important to note that with indoor cultivation, it is 2 typical to have up to 4 or 5 harvests per year. By some estimates, approximately 40 grams of cannabis flower can be produced per square foot. Based on a 2,000 square foot cultivation area, this could allow for a production of approximately 175 pounds of cannabis flower per harvest. Of course these estimates could vary considerably due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, the growing technique and the strain of cannabis being grown. Cannabis Cultivation Operating Standards Staff reviewed the regulations and operating standards that are applied to cannabis cultivation by a variety of jurisdictions in the State. Below are some recommended standards to limit the potential impacts of cannabis cultivation activities: • Only one Use Permit for commercial cannabis cultivation may be possessed or used by a person or entity, including the representatives, agents, parent entities, or subsidiary entities of that person or entity. • Only one Use Permit will be issued per legal parcel for commercial cannabis cultivation. • All cannabis cultivation activity shall exclusively occur within a fully enclosed and secure structure. Outdoor cultivation is prohibited. • Entrance to any cultivation area, and any cannabis storage areas, shall be locked at all times, and under the control of the facility's staff. • Cannabis cultivation must be concealed from public view at all stages of growth and there shall be no visual or auditory evidence of cultivation occurring at the premises from a public right-of-way or from an adjacent parcel. Indoor lighting used for the cultivation process shall not be visible from outside the building. • Cannabis cultivation areas shall be adequately secured to prevent unauthorized entry and shall not be accessible to persons under 21 years of age. • Areas of the licensed premises for manufacturing and cultivation shall be separated from the distribution and retail areas by a wall and all doors between the areas shall remain closed when not in use. • Odor from the planting, cultivation, harvesting, drying, and processing of cannabis shall not be detectable from beyond the property boundaries. To achieve this, the cannabis cultivation area shall be, at a minimum, mechanically ventilated with a carbon filter or other method to prevent the odor of cannabis from escaping the indoor cultivation area and negatively impacting neighbors and the surrounding community. The ventilation and filtration system must be approved by the building official and installed prior to commencing cannabis cultivation within the structure. Failure to adequately control odors shall be declared a public nuisance and as such shall be subject to abatement procedures found in Title 8 of the Crescent City Municipal Code. Odor control issues may also be grounds for revocation of the Use Permit allowing commercial cannabis activity. • No effluent, including but not limited to waste products, chemical fertilizers or pesticides, shall be discharged into drains, public sewer system, septic systems, water systems, or other drainage systems including those that lead to rivers and streams. • All waste cannabis material generated by cannabis cultivation activity shall be stored in a secure location in the facility and disposed of at a permitted disposal facility. • All areas recorded by the security cameras shall at all times have adequate lighting to allow the 3  surveillance cameras to effectively record images, except when lighting would interfere with the indoor cultivation cycle. • Applications for a Use Permit for cannabis cultivation shall contain an energy calculator quantifying the expected electricity usage and greenhouse gas emissions, a list of energy efficiency measures, best practices, and proposed greenhouse gas emission offsets. A minimum of 50% emissions offset or equivalent in efficiency measures is required for indoor cannabis cultivation. • The indoor cultivation of cannabis must comply with all applicable state, county, and local regulations, including fire and building codes. Processing Facilities for Cannabis Material Produced Offsite As discussed above, it is recommended that applicants with a Use Permit for cannabis cultivation also be allowed to process (e.g., trimming) cannabis material produced onsite. At topic for the Commission to discuss would be allowing processing facilities in the City with a Use Permit? This would be a facility intended for processing of cannabis materials produced offsite? Recommended Actions: Staff recommends the Planning Commission take the following actions: 1. Receive a staff report from planning staff. 2. Open the item for public comment. 3. Close the item for public comment. 4. Discuss the staff recommendations and public comment. 5. Provide a recommendation to the City Council. 4