To: Zoning Administrator
From: Planning and Building Department
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Vesuvio Gardens, LLC. Special Permit
Assessor Parcel Number 220-141-009-000 and 220-141-010-000
Record No.: PLN-12605-SP
Whitethorn Area
A Special Permit for 10,000 square feet of existing outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation and 1,000 square feet of ancillary propagation. Estimated annual water use is 100,000 gallons sourced from a spring diversion on APN 220-141-009 and a rooftop rain catchment system on APN 220-141-010. Irrigation water is stored in tanks totaling 104,000 gallons across the two parcels. A permitted septic is on site for operators and staff. Processing, including trimming, will occur off site. Electricity is provided by a solar array and PGE with a generator for emergency backup only.
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Zoning Administrator:
1. Adopt resolution (Resolution 25-__), which does the following:
a. Finds the Zoning Administrator has considered the Mitigated Negative Declaration previously adopted for the Commercial Medical Marijuana Land Use Ordinance and the Addendum prepared for the Vesuvio Gardens, LLC’s project; and
b. Finds the proposed project complies with the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance; and
c. Approves the Vesuvio Garden, LLC Special Permit subject to the conditions of approval.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Project Location:
The Whitethorn area, on the west side of Briceland Thorn Rd, approximately 5.75 miles W then NNE from the intersection of Briceland Thorn Rd and Shelter Cove/ Huckleberry Ln, on the property known to be in Township 04S of Range 02E Section 31 Humboldt Base & Meridian.
Present General Plan Land Use Designation:
Residential Agriculture (RA-40), 2017 General Plan; Density: 40 acres per unit; Slope Stability: Moderate Instability (2).
Present Zoning:
Unclassified (U).
Environmental Review:
An Addendum to a previously adopted Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared for consideration per §15164 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
State Appeal:
Project is NOT appealable to the California Coastal Commission.
Major concerns:
None.
Executive Summary:
A Special Permit for 10,000 square feet of existing outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation with 1,000 square feet of ancillary propagation. Estimated annual irrigation water usage of 100,000 gallons will be sourced from an existing spring diversion and a rooftop rainwater catchment system. Water storage is provided by a series of water tanks. Processing will occur offsite. Electricity is provided by PG&E on the lower parcel and solar power with an emergency generator on the upper parcel.
The subject parcels are within 600 feet of public lands but the cultivation area is far outside of the setback. No special permit is required to change the setback.
The project involves onsite relocation and restoration of historic cultivation areas, and reforestation of converted timberland.
Due to the history of ground disturbance, impact to biological resources is unlikely to be significant, however, a series of timber removal projects after 2016 and subsequent conversion following the development of both cannabis and non-cannabis related uses on those harvested areas requires timber restoration. Additionally, the project is relatively close to listed species’ habitat and CDFW has requested conditions of approval which mitigate potential impact to those species, described in more detail in the Biological Resources section.
Access is from Thomas Road and there will be a maximum of 5 employees at peak operation.
The scope of the project extends over two separate legal parcels, APNs 220-141-009-000 and 220-141-010-000. The uses on 220-141-010 are water storage tanks, a proposed drying shed, the residence from which rain is captured, and three structures for storage. The uses on APN 220-141-009 include the 10,000 square foot outdoor cultivation area, additional water storage, the legacy cultivation site, and the solar array.
Water Resources:
Water for irrigation is sourced from a permitted spring diversion and a rooftop rain catchment. It is stored in a series of tanks with a volume totaling 104,000 gallons. 101,500 gallons of storage is on APN 220-141-010; water will be stored there until pumped to the 2,500-gallon series of tanks on APN 220-141-009 from which the cultivation will be irrigated. Estimated annual water use is 100,000 gallons (10 gal/SF). The rooftop rain catchment system was estimated to collect 37,000 gallons a year, and the spring shall only be diverted outside of the forbearance period (Condition C3). Both water sources and the genesis of the irrigation system will have water meters. The applicant shall comply with the recommendations prepared by CDFW in regard to the diversion (Condition A1a).
A Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement (LSAA) has been filed with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to address all work to be done within the waterways (HUM-18725-R1C). The applicant has been conditioned to implement all recommendations from the LSAA and adhere to prescribed reporting measures to the satisfaction of CDFW (Condition 17).
The spring and its drainage are located entirely on site and does not act as a tributary to any public waterways. Given the spring has no direct connection to surface waters, the use of the spring for irrigation purposes will not cause any significant adverse impact or otherwise substantially impair the public trust uses or values related to commerce, navigation, fisheries, public access, preservation of trust lands in their natural state, or water-related-recreation and other activities.
The Applicant submitted a Notice of Applicability per the requirements of the State Water Board Cannabis Cultivation Policy and General Order WQ 2019-0001-DWQ. Based on the information provided, the Applicant self-certifies the cannabis cultivation activities are consistent with the requirements of the State Water Board Policy and General Order.
A Site Management Plan (SMP) has not been prepared but the applicant is required to submit a SMP within 90 days from the effective date of the permit (Condition A7). The operator shall implement all recommendations in the Site Management Plan (Condition C15).
The County of Humboldt Department of Environmental Health responded, stating seasonal cultivation without processing may use portable toilets to serve the operation. Permittee shall provide portable toilet(s) to cultivation areas, meeting appropriate setbacks per Humboldt County Code, or install a permitted onsite wastewater treatment system associated with a permitted structure.
Biological Resources:
Staff reviewed various sources including the California Natural Diversity Database, Biogeographic Information and Observation System, Northern Spotted Owl Viewer, and US Fish and Wildlife Service Information for Planning and Consultation. Four special status species appear within one mile of the project area: marbled murrelet habitat is approximately 1,880 feet away, the occurrence (Accuracy Class 9) of a southern torrent salamander is approximately 2,000 feet away, the summer and winter run steelhead in the Mattole River are 2,000 feet away, and a northern spotted owl activity center is approximately 3,300 feet away. Bureau of Land Management lands adjacent to the subject parcel are identified as critical habitat for marbled murrelet but the cultivation area is more than 600 feet away from that area.
The project is conditioned to mitigate any potential adverse or cumulative effects to any special status species or habitat. These mitigation measures include the maintaining enrollment in the SWRCB General Cannabis Enrollment (mitigates runoff), the limitation of the volume of onsite activities to 50 decibels, light pollution prevention from the appurtenant nursery, and a restriction on the use of fans altogether since the fans are likely to be a significant source of sound (Condition C2). With those considerations along with the fact that this cultivation existed in 2016, impacts to biological resources seem to be low and unlikely with implementation of the mitigation measures identified in the CMMLUO Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) adopted on January 26, 2016.
CDFW provided comment requiring the operator resolve some onsite violations and deficiencies prior to cultivating in 2025. Condition of Approval 1A lists the requirements, which are mostly completing improvements specified in the final LSAA. Among other projects, these requirements include decommissioning an unauthorized water diversion and installing at least 100,000 gallons of water storage. CDFW also concurred with the mitigation measures recommended for Northern Spotted Owl and the Marbled Murrelet. Those requirements are memorialized in the Ongoing Requirements and include a restricted window for ground disturbing activities, a noise limit, and a requirement to prevent light pollution.
Onsite Relocation and Restoration:
Approximately 7,500 square feet of mixed light cultivation area existed on APN 220-141-010 and 27,442.8 square feet of cultivation area existed on APN 220-141-009 in 2016. The 7,500 square feet of mixed light cultivation spanned the neighboring property boundary and existed on converted timberland. This 7,500 square foot area is not part of the proposed entitlement and the historic cultivation areas will be restored. The 27,442.8 square feet of outdoor cultivation area has been downsized and consolidated to 10,000 square feet on an environmentally superior site as it is outside of the streamside management areas and on flatter slopes than the original project. This relocation occurred between 2018 and 2022. The original cultivation clearings are to be reforested according to the restocking plans (Attachments 4C) (Condition A9).
The timber restocking plan involves planting Douglas-fir at uniform spacing and five years of monitoring.
Energy:
On APN 220-141-010, proposed to be used for propagation and ancillary uses, energy is provided by PG&E. On the cultivation parcel APN 220-141-009, a solar array is used to power. The farm also has a gasoline generator for emergency backup power use, if needed. The generator is required to meet the noise limit restrictions required by the CMMLUO (Condition C4).
Access:
The site is located on Huckleberry Lane, a privately maintained road. A road evaluation report (Attachment 4E) found that the entire road segment has been developed to the equivalent of a road category 4 standard and has been found to safely accommodate the amount of traffic generated by the proposed cannabis cultivation. The operator is conditioned to join the Huckleberry Farm Road Maintenance Association prior to cultivating in 2025 (Condition A1b).
The parcel also has three access easements recorded on site, as delineated in Attachment 4E, Access Easement Diagrams. It appears the relocated cannabis cultivation infrastructure is within the boundaries of the recorded easement. To remedy this access issue, the operator shall move all cannabis related infrastructure out of rights-of-way and recorded easements prior to the 2025 cultivation season. Prior to cultivation occurring the access easement traversing the cultivation site shall be surveyed and its boundaries shall be marked and all cannabis infrastructure shall be removed from the easement. Alternatively, the applicant and easement holder may agree to relocate the easement. No additional timber removal is permitted in either instance.
Geologic Suitability:
The slope of the land where cannabis will be cultivated is less than 15%. The parcel is geologically moderately unstable.
Timber Conversion:
Approximately 3.11 acres of timberland were converted between the two subject parcels, including the 0.65 acre proposed cultivation area. Prior to 2016, 1.28 acres were converted. Post 2016, 1.83 acres were converted. The submitted Timberland Restocking Plan (Attachment 4C) indicated 1.31 acres will be restored: 1.06 acres converted prior to 2016 and .25 converted post 2016. Including the proposed cultivation area, the area that will be retained from post-2016 converted area is 1.17 acres - no more than 1.06 acres will be used for cultivation related activities.
To justify the cultivation of cannabis on an area of timberland converted after 2016, the reforestation of at least the same area of timberland converted prior to 2016 is required. As such, the applicant shall follow the recommendations of the Timber Resources Company’s Restocking Plan (Attachment 4C), primarily replanting at least 0.65 acres of the pre-2016 converted areas within one year from the effective date of the permit (Condition A9).
The applicant shall also apply for all necessary permits from Cal-Fire within one year (Condition A10).
Security and Safety:
The security plan for the operation includes locked gates, low intensity lighting, motion lights, and use of security cameras.
Tribal Consultation:
Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria remotely investigated the project site and subject parcels and recommended the inadvertent discovery protocol be applied to the project (Condition C1). Representatives from the Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council did not respond to a request for comments.
Consistency with Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 18-43:
The project parcel is located in the Cape Mendocino Planning Watershed, and the Headwaters Mattole River refuge sub watershed. The permit cap in that watershed is 650 permits, and the acre cap is 223 acres. According to the County’s most recent records, there are 235 permits approved, making up a total cultivated area of 88.08 acres. The approval of this permit would cause there to be 236 permits approved and 89.04 acres cultivated. The project can be approved in the Headwaters Mattole River refuge sub watershed because the cultivation existed prior to 2016.
Environmental Review:
An environmental review for this project was conducted and based on this analysis, staff concludes that all aspects of the project have been considered in a previously adopted Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) that was adopted for the CMMLUO. Staff has prepared an addendum (Attachment 3) to the MND for consideration by the Zoning Administrator.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The project was referred to responsible agencies and all responding agencies have either responded with no comment or recommended approval or conditional approval. (Attachment 5)
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. The Zoning Administrator could elect to add or delete conditions of approval.
2. The Zoning Administrator could deny approval if unable to make all the required findings.
Staff has concluded the required findings in support of the proposal can be made. Consequently, staff does not recommend further consideration of these alternatives.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Draft Resolution
A. Conditions of Approval
B. Cultivation Operations Plan
C. Site Plan
2. Location Map
3. CEQA Addendum
4. Applicant’s Evidence in Support of the Required Findings
A. Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement
B. Initial Statement of Diversion
C. Timberland Conversion
i. Restocking Plan
ii. Timber Conversion Calculations
iii. Timber Conversion Images
iv. Timberland Conversion Evaluation Report (220-141-009)
D. Road Evaluation
E. Access Easement Diagrams
5. Referral Agency Comments and Recommendations
APPLICANT, OWNER, AND AGENT INFORMATION:
Applicant
Vesuvio Gardens, LLC
Joseph Jacovini
P.O. Box 520
Whitethorn, CA 95589
Owner
Joseph Jacovini
2305 Huckleberry Lane
Whitethorn CA 95589
Agent
Margro Advisors
117 Wildwood Avenue
Rio Dell, CA 95562
Please contact Collin Slavey, Planner, at cslavey@co.humboldt.ca.us or 707-445-7245 if you have questions about this item.