Pursuant to the authority granted by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors hereby enacts this title, which shall be known and may be cited as the "Lassen County Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Regulation Ordinance."
(Ord. 2016-002 § 2; Ord. 2017-004 § 1; Ord. 2019-03 § 2)
The board of supervisors of the county of Lassen hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) 
In 1996, the voters of the state of California adopted Proposition 215. This initiative, the Compassionate Use Act, enabled persons who are in need of marijuana for medical purposes to use it without fear of criminal prosecution. In 2004, the California Legislature enacted SB 420 which created a Medical Marijuana Program and sought to clarify portions of the Compassionate Use Act. The Legislature adopted AB2650 (2010) and AB1300 (2011) to vest and recognize that cities and counties could adopt local ordinances in furtherance of Prop 215 and SB420.
(b) 
In 2013, two cases out of California courts confirmed that local entities, namely, cities and counties, were not deprived of the authority to regulate the use of land within their respective boundaries just because Prop 215 and SB420 were passed. That is, the Brown vs Tehama County and City of Riverside vs Inland Empire cases confirmed the belief that Prop 215 and SB420 did not grant persons the unfettered right to grow marijuana. From these cases, and relying on the police power granted pursuant to the California Constitution, many jurisdictions across the state began regulating the time, place, and manner in which marijuana could be cultivated.
(c) 
In the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2015, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors received substantial testimony over the course of several meetings related to the impacts upon the peace, health, and safety of the residents of Lassen County as a result of the unregulated indoor and outdoor cultivation of marijuana. As a result of this public testimony, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors directed be prepared, and subsequently adopted April 21st of 2015, Title 19 to the Lassen County Code. Title 19 sought to limit, for the first time in Lassen County, the impacts which resulted from unregulated marijuana cultivation, both indoor and outdoor.
(d) 
In late 2015 and early 2016, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors received more testimony regarding the cultivation of marijuana in Lassen County since the initial adoption of Title 19 just months before. The board of supervisors heard testimony that many of the outdoor cultivation locations that had been creating a nuisance were eliminated as a result of the adoption of Title 19 and its enforcement. The board of supervisors also heard testimony that the number of cultivation sites in Lassen County was expanding, predominantly on vacant land in the most rural parts of the county.
(e) 
On or about April 12, 2016, the Lassen County Board Of Supervisors amended Title 19 for the purpose of limiting cultivation to only those parcels of land within Lassen County where there was already a lawfully established residential structure. During the 2016 growing season, there were many cultivators within Lassen County that chose to simply ignore the requirement that cultivation could only occur on land which had a lawfully established residential structure.
(f) 
On or about October 11, 2016, the Lassen County Board Of Supervisors amended Title 19 imposing a ban on all cultivation of marijuana in Lassen County.
(g) 
In the fall of 2015, the California Legislature passed and the Governor signed three significant pieces of legislation regarding medical marijuana. AB 266, AB 243, and SB 643 created a comprehensive state licensing system for the commercial cultivation, manufacture, retail sale, transport, distribution, delivery, and testing of medical cannabis. Importantly, all licenses which could be issued by the state for such activities must first be approved by local government. These laws went into effect January 1, 2016. However, the state indicated it needed until January 1, 2018 to create the new agencies that would be administering such a new licensing system, and to draft and adopt new regulations regarding the licensing that will occur.
(h) 
On November 8, 2016, the voters of California adopted Proposition 64. Proposition 64 allows the recreational possession and use of cannabis and cannabis products. As part of that initiative, commercial cultivation, manufacture, retail sale, transport, distribution, delivery, and testing of cannabis was authorized. Like the legislative enactments the year before on medicinal marijuana, Proposition 64 created a new comprehensive state licensing system which would go into effect on January 1, 2018.
(i) 
On or about June 20 of 2017, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors further amended Title 19 to lift the ban on all cultivation and to allow cultivation once again for non-commercial purposes. The new iteration allowed non-commercial cultivation for medical purposes (outdoors) and recreations purposes (indoors; Proposition 64) All commercial marijuana activities were prohibited while the state began the implementation process of its new commercial cannabis industry.
(j) 
For decades, marijuana and hemp have been listed on schedule 1 of the federal controlled substances act. Any sort of commercial activity related to those substances was historically a federal crime. In late 2018, the United States Congress removed industrial hemp from schedule 1 thereby paving the way for the creation of a new hemp based industry. The same authority, confirmed in the Browne and Inland Empire cases, as being the basis for regulating the time, place, and manner of cultivating marijuana is also applicable to regulating the time, place, and manner of cultivating industrial hemp.
(k) 
The board of supervisors has directed the implementation of an amendment to Title 19 to identify the conditions under which industrial hemp can be cultivated within Lassen County.
(Ord. 2016-002 § 2; Ord. 2017-004 § 2; Ord. 2019-03 § 3)
Except where stated otherwise, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this title:
"Accessory structure"
means a fully enclosed and secure structure that complies with the California Building Standards Code, that has a complete roof enclosure supported by connecting walls extending from the ground to the roof, and a foundation, slab, or equivalent base to which the floor is securely attached. The structure must be secure against unauthorized entry, accessible only through one or more lockable doors, and constructed of solid materials that cannot easily be broken through, such as two-inch by four-inch or thicker studs overlain with three-eighths-inch or thicker plywood or equivalent materials. An accessory structure is a structure that is secondary or incidental to a private residence. A structure cannot be an accessory structure if there is not a private residence on the premises. A greenhouse or hoop house is not an accessory structure for purposes of this title and all cultivation within a greenhouse or hoop house is to be deemed "outdoors."
"Cannabis products"
has the same meaning as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 11018.1.
"Cultivation"
means the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, processing, or storing of one or more marijuana plants or any part thereof in any location, indoor or outdoor, including from within a fully enclosed and secure building.
"Enforcing officer"
shall have the same meaning as set forth in Section 1.18.050 of the Lassen County Code (and as amended by the ordinance codified in this section).
"Fence of substantial construction"
means a seven-foot fence constructed of no less than four by four-inch wood posts, or two and five-sixteenths-inch steel posts, secured in the ground no less than thirty inches below grade, constructed in a workman-like manner, spaced no further than eight feet apart, with no less than two by four-inch wood rails, no fewer than three each between posts, with one by six-inch wood pickets that have no gap between them. Substantial construction of a fence for this purpose also means the erection of a seven-foot chain link fence which includes sight obscuring slats.
"Indoor" or "indoors"
means that the structure within which marijuana is being cultivated, must be a private residence or an accessory structure within the meaning of those definitions found elsewhere in this section of Title 19. All cultivation which does not specifically meet the definition of "indoor" or "indoors" is considered "outdoor" or "outdoors." The cultivation of marijuana which occurs in a greenhouse or hoop house is considered "outdoor" or "outdoors" cultivation for purposes of this title.
"Industrial hemp" or "hemp"
shall have that meaning as set forth in Health and Safety Code Section 11018.5.
"Legal parcel"
means any parcel of real property that may be separately sold in compliance with the Subdivision Map Act (Division 2 (commencing with Section 66410) of Title 7 of the Government Code). Legal parcel is not the same as Assessor's Parcel Number (APN). One legal parcel may have multiple APNs. The allowable cannabis activities defined in Section 19.040 relate to premises, as defined below, and not individual APNs.
"Licensed day care provider"
means a child care center or a family child care home licensed by the California Department of Social Services.
"Marijuana" or "cannabis"
shall have that meaning as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 26001(f).
"Outdoor" or "outdoors"
means any cultivation location that does not specifically meet the definition of "indoor" or "indoors" or is otherwise specifically defined as "outdoor" or "outdoors."
"Premises"
shall mean a single, legal parcel of property. Where contiguous legal parcels are under common ownership or control, such contiguous legal parcels shall be counted as a single "premises" for purposes of this title. Parcels are considered contiguous for purposes of this title if they touch at any point along their respective boundaries.
"Primary caregiver"
shall have the meaning set forth in Health and Safety Code Sections 11362.5 and 11362.7 et seq.
"Private residence"
means a lawfully established structure, suitable for human occupancy as required by Sections 17922 and 17958 of the California Health and Safety Code. A recreational vehicle does not constitute a lawfully established structure for purposes of this title.
"Public park"
means an area of land designated by any local governmental entity empowered to create a public park as an area to be held open to the public for recreational purposes.
"Qualified patient"
shall have the meaning set forth in Health and Safety Code Sections 11362.5 and 11362.7 et seq.
"Residing on the premises"
means that the person cultivating marijuana, whether for medicinal or recreational purposes, must be a legal occupant of a lawfully established structure, suitable for human occupancy as required by Sections 17922 and 17958 of the California Health and Safety Code, located on the premises upon which the cultivation is occurring. A recreational vehicle does not constitute a lawfully established structure for purposes of this title.
"School"
means an institution of learning for minors, whether public or private, offering a regular course of instruction required by the California Education Code. This definition includes a nursery school, kindergarten, elementary school, middle or junior high school, senior high school, or any special institution of education, but it does not include a home school, vocational or professional institution of higher education, including a community or junior college, college, or university.
"School bus stop"
means any location designated in accordance with California Code of Regulations, Title 13, Section 1238, to receive school buses, as defined in California Vehicle Code Section 233.
(Ord. 2016-002 § 2; Ord. 2016-007 § 1; Ord. 2017-004 § 4; Ord. 2019-03 § 4)
(a) 
Non-commercial marijuana. The non-commercial cultivation of marijuana in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County, whether for medical or recreational purposes, by any person, regardless of their status as a qualified patient or designated primary caregiver, in excess of the following limits is prohibited and is hereby declared a public nuisance that may be abated or enjoined pursuant to this title:
(1) 
All cultivation, recreational or medical, may only be performed by someone residing on the premises (within the meaning of that definition above) where the cultivation occurs.
(2) 
Allowable indoor cultivation. Marijuana, whether for medical or recreational use, may be cultivated indoors (within the meaning of that definition above) and then subject to the following limitations:
A. 
Not more than six living plants may be cultivated indoors at any one time for one premises.
B. 
The location where the cultivation is to occur shall not be accessible to minors at any time.
(3) 
Allowable outdoor cultivation. No recreational marijuana may be cultivated outdoors. Only medical marijuana may be cultivated outdoors (within the meaning of that definition above) and then subject to each of the following limitations:
A. 
Outdoor cultivation may only occur on a single contiguous two hundred fifty square-foot area located on the premises. The location at which measurements shall be taken in determining whether such cultivation is within two hundred fifty square feet within the meaning of this limitation shall be the interior side of any fence required for "outdoor" cultivation in subsection (a)(3)(B) below.
B. 
Outdoor cultivation shall be fully enclosed by a fence of substantial construction.
C. 
Outdoor cultivation shall be set back from all exterior property lines by at least fifty feet. Such setback distance shall be measured in a straight line from the property line to any fence required to be constructed to enclose an outdoor marijuana grow pursuant to this title.
D. 
There shall be no outdoor cultivation of marijuana, in any amount or quantity, upon any premises located within one thousand feet of any existing school, school bus stop, licensed day care provider, or public park. Such distance shall be measured in a straight line from the boundary line of the premises upon which marijuana is cultivated to the boundary line of the premises upon which the school, school bus stop, licensed day care provider, or public park is located.
E. 
There shall be no outdoor cultivation on premises which are one acre in size or smaller.
(4) 
All cultivation, indoors or outdoors, medical or recreational, may only be performed by the legal owner of the premises or the legal resident thereof. If the person cultivating the marijuana is not the legal owner of the premises, such person shall possess a notarized consent form from the legal owner consenting to such cultivation. This consent form shall be at all times kept on the premises where the marijuana is being cultivated and a copy of which shall be made available, upon demand, to any enforcing officer. Lassen County planning and building services department will make forms available for such purpose.
(b) 
Commercial marijuana. The establishment, maintenance, or operation of any commercial marijuana activity, including, but not limited to, cultivation, possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery, or sale of marijuana and marijuana products, which would require a license to be issued pursuant to state law (currently M.A.U.C.R.S.A.) in excess of the following limits is prohibited within the unincorporated territory of Lassen County and is hereby declared a public nuisance which may be abated or enjoined pursuant to this title.
(1) 
All commercial marijuana operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act as it exists at the time of adoption of the ordinance codified in this title and may be amended from time to time; and
(2) 
All commercial marijuana operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with any rules and regulations adopted by the California State Bureau of Cannabis Control in effect at the time of adoption of the ordinance codified in this title or as may be amended from time to time; and
(3) 
All commercial marijuana operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with all terms and conditions of any state license, permit, or other entitlement issued pursuant to the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act; and
(4) 
All commercial marijuana operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with any terms and conditions imposed by Lassen County prior to issuance of any permit, license, or other entitlement issued by the County of Lassen; and
(5) 
All commercial marijuana operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with Chapter 3.30 of the Lassen County Code; and
(6) 
All commercial marijuana operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with Title 18 of the Lassen County Code and only those activities specifically allowed by Title 18 may be conducted.
(c) 
Industrial Hemp. The cultivation of industrial hemp in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County, for whatever purposes, by any person, in excess of the following limits is prohibited and is hereby declared a public nuisance that may be abated or enjoined pursuant to this title:
(1) 
All industrial hemp operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with both federal and state statutes and regulations as may exist at the time of adoption of the ordinance codified in this title and that may be amended from time to time; and
(2) 
All industrial hemp operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with all terms and conditions of any state license, permit, or other entitlement issued by the State Department of Food and Agriculture; and
(3) 
All industrial hemp operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County must at all times be in compliance with Title 18 of the Lassen County Code as it exists at the time of adoption of the ordinance codified in this title or as may be amended from time to time; and
(4) 
All industrial hemp cultivation operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County are limited to legal parcels nineteen acres in size or larger; and
(5) 
All industrial hemp operations in the unincorporated territory of Lassen County are subject to unimpeded site visits and crop and/or product testing on six hours notice by agents of the county of Lassen Department of the Agriculture Commissioner.
(6) 
All industrial hemp cultivation must be maintained in excess of one hundred fifty yards from any residence not in common ownership with the parcel upon which the cultivation is occurring.
(Ord. 2016-002 § 2; Ord. 2016-007 § 1; Ord. 2017-004 § 4; Ord. 2019-03 § 5; Ord. 2019-04 § 1)