Humboldt County supervisors extend industrial hemp ban in coastal zone

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance Tuesday to extend a temporary moratorium on industrial hemp cultivation in the coastal zone for another six months as the county awaits feedback from the California Coastal Commission.

Back in February, the board unanimously passed a permanent ban on industrial hemp cultivation, replacing the temporary moratorium that was set to expire May 10. Though the ban was “permanent,” the ordinance was passed with the intention to be amended at a future date to allow non-commercial hemp cultivation for research purposes.

The College of the Redwoods expressed interest in limited cultivation of industrial hemp for educational and research purposes at its Tompkins Hill Road campus in October 2020. Humboldt County Planning Commission staff then drafted inland and coastal industrial hemp ordinances that continued the existing moratorium in unincorporated areas of the county with an exception for CR through a special permit process.

During a May 18 supervisors meeting, the board adopted a 45-day temporary moratorium on the cultivation of industrial hemp by “Established Agricultural Research Institutions” and any growers of industrial hemp in the coastal zone, according to the staff report. Because the coastal zone boundary bisects the CR campus, the coastal ordinance was passed on to the Coastal Commission for review.

Michael Richardson, Humboldt County supervising planner, noted that Tuesday’s agenda item “continues a conversation we’ve been having through several years.”

“We have a moratorium in place in the inland parts of the county and we’re waiting for the Coastal Commission to make effective our moratorium in the coastal parts of the county,” he said. “While we’re waiting, we want to prohibit any cultivation in the interim.”

If approved, the extended moratorium would endure for another six months to give the Coastal Commission time to review and certify the county’s proposed ordinance, Richardson said.

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone noted that the moratorium at hand concerned industrial hemp cultivation, not personal use.

“Personal use still prevails at the state level and so you can grow six cannabis plants per residence, legally without any permits,” he said. “So, if you want to grow CBD-rich hemp you can do that six plants. (If you) want to grow THC plants you can grow those six plants. For those that are looking for CBD for personal use, you can do that. I just want to make sure folks realize this doesn’t prevent that.”

Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson asked Humboldt County Planning and Building director John Ford to clarify why prohibition was necessary in the coastal zone.

“That six plant minimum really applies to the state law, right?” Wilson asked. “The point of this is basically that if we didn’t have this prohibition, you can grow as much as you want in terms of hemp and CBD and, I think as far as I understand, none of the city jurisdictions have this prohibition, yet.”

“I believe that it’s all correct,” Ford said. “Arcata does allow hemp and I’m not sure what Eureka and Fortuna do.”

After about 10 minutes of discussion, supervisors unanimously voted to adopt the urgency ordinance in a 5-0 vote.

The board will consider approval of a special permit for CR following the Coastal Commission’s review of the coastal use ordinance.

Source:  https://www.times-standard.com/2021/06/22/humboldt-county-supervisors-extend-industrial-hemp-ban-in-coastal-zone/

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