MedicalMJissue

The GJ finds that there is o oversight entity specifically involved to provide a plan for MJ controls and develop ordinances to limit adverse environmental effests Response: Iagree withthisfinding.

The GJ finds that there is no specific Trinity County permit for medical MJ cultivation which might encourage compliance with SB 420 Cultivation Guidelines and County Code 8.55 (June 2012) that limit MJ grows to no more than eight plants (or 400 square feet) for parcels of 10 acres or greater. Response: / agree with thisfinding. KEITHGROVES JUDYMORRIS KARLFISHER BILLBURTON JOHN FENLEY DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT'2 DISTRICT3 DISTRICT4 DISTRICT5

There is no "aggregate grow" allowance which would permit MJ gardens to have excessive plants beyond the numbers specified in Ordinance 315-797. Response: Iagree.

Trinity County Ordinance 315-797 is enforced primarily following a complaint received bythePlanning Department- itisa"complaint-driven" enforcement, notan "awareness-driven" enforcement. Response: / agreewith thisfinding.

There is no monitoring on groundwater effects or depletion as the result of a larger increase in wells for MJ cultivation within any area. The CA State Regulations rule water resources within all CA counties. No "sensitive aquafers" are identified within Trinity County which might limit the proliferation ofwater wells. Response: / agree inpart. TheState Regulations do not apply to our private water wells.

The impacts to wildlife from pesticide use in the vicinity ofMJ grows are not monitored. Response: / agree inpart. There issomemonitoringbyCAFish and Wildlife.

Thereisno"campingordinance"(asofthewritingofthis inApril2015)to control the occasional public nuisance resulting from transients (including transient laborers sometimes called"trimmigrants") who often work intheMJindustry. Insomeareas, a"Fishing Access Ordinance" is the onlyregulation which authorizes County officials to move campers out ofpublic areas. Response: / agree withthisfinding.

There is no County ordinance to control clearing the vegetation from parcels of land for large MJ cultivations - the only regulations are from CALFIRE for timber- related operations. Response: Iagree withthisfinding.

Tracking ofcode violations from Notice ofViolation through resolution is inadequate, allowing violations to remain unresolved in the complexity of the statutory process. Response: / Agree inpart. Thereare violations that have moved through the system andendedinthecollection offines. There also havebeensome voluntaryabatementofMJas a resultofthesystemthatis inplace.

Visitors to Trinity County have experienced undesirable impacts to the natural resource environment, threatening encounters with defensive growers, and a lower qualitydowntown environment which may be exacerbated by the participantsin the cannabis industry. Response: / agree withthisfinding

Students in Trinity County schools experience negative MJ-related effects inboth decreased academic motivation andinparticipation in an illegal economic industry. Response: / agree withthisfinding.

The MJ industry derives large sums ofmoney from ales and distribution, yet the County receives very little benefit from the profits involved due to inadequate fines and collections. Response: / agree withthisfinding.

The size and scope ofcontrolling MJ cultivations is beyond the capacity of County law and code enforcement. Trinity County is a large geographic area that is expensive to administer dueto the timeanddistance between codeenforcement personnel and MJ grow sites. Response: / agree withthisfinding.

Enforcing Trinity County Ordinances and providing MJ-related low enforcement is entirely dependent on the staffing and funding available to inspect, monitor, correctnon-compliance,and (ifnecessary)prosecuteviolators. Inadequate funding and staffing has resulted in inadequate enforcement. Staffing available to do this work is relatively low and the trend is a decreasing budget and workforce. Response: Disagree inpart. Fundingfrom the TCGeneral Fundhas been increasing overthelastfewyears.

County personnel may face dangerous situations upon visiting illegal MJ grows. Guns, dogs, "booby traps", and defensive people are intimidating obstacles for a "safe" inspection compliance visit. Response: Iagree withthisfinding

The Trinity County community is generally unaware of the restrictions which limitMJgrowstoparcels ofproperty which include singlefamily residences andthatata maximum numberof8plants ispermitted onthelargest parcels (parcels of 10acres orgreater). Response: / disagree. The TC Planning Commission hadapproximately twentyfour meetings (about halfofthose were MJ "workshops") overa oneyearperiod in which the MJ draft ordinances were discussed. Testimony was headfrom hundreds ofpeople including MJ growers. These meetings received a lot ofcoverage in the Trinity Journal. The BOShad several meetings todiscuss the 315-797 ordinance. Since the adoption of315-797, the County has had information on its web site, hand out 315-797 fact sheets and the ordinance was discussed at numerous town hall meetings aroundthe county. Persons that are unaware are unaware becausetheywantcode/lawenforcement tothinkthattheyare unaware.

An ordinance violation involving grows with excessive numbers ofplants that isencountered by County personnel is rarely reported and therefore not abated. Response: / agree withthisfinding.

There is a large portion of the local citizenry who are "pro-marijuana' which tends to influence the BOS and inhibit the effective enforcement of existing laws and County ordinances. Many people in our rural county do not like government interference with their chosen activities. Response: / agree in part with thisfinding. The quantifier "large" may be a bit misleading. There are certainlysome "pro-marijuana"folks in the County. However, this groupis dividedintotwodistinctive groups. Onegroupconsists ofTC citizensthatuseMJfor medicinalpurposes andpossiblyfor someprofit. Thisgroupis normallynotaproblemtotheir neighbors. The othergroup consists ofsome TCcitizensandmanynon-citizens (temporarily in TConly to cultivateMJ). Thisgroup containsthepeople thathave severely degradedour TC residents' "qualityoflife". The BOS has been working diligently to get the MJ diversion industry out ofthe County whileprotecting the ability ofitscitizens' ability togrow reasonable amountsofMJ

The general public has "given up complaining" about MJ grows in non compliance of Ordinance 315-797 because the statutory procedure to correct the violation is very lengthy and cumbersome. Response; / disagree withthisfinding. Thepublic had "givenupcomplaining"mostly becausetheydonotsee a resultfor theparcel theycomplainedabout. It is veryhardto believe that theprocess works whenyou canVsee a change in your own backyard, no matter how many enforcements arehappening inotherareasoftheCounty.

Adjacent Northern Californiacounties have recently banned outdoor MJ grows, increasing the likelihood that Trinity County will become a preferred destination for outdoor MJ growers. Response: / agreewith thisfinding

Members of the BOS are actively working with the MJ industry in anticipation of laws changing to benefit MJ cultivation, sales, and distribution which may eventually benefitthe economy ofTC residents. Response: / agree inpart with thisfinding. Whether or not there will befinancial benefitstotheCountyisyet tobeseen.

The civil fine forhaving excessive MJ plants on a privately owned parcel is $100/day with a maximum penalty of 90 days. This fine is seldom collected and has not proven to be a deterrent to growing excessive numbers ofplants. Response: / agree with thisfinding.

MJ Code enforcement fines that are collected do no benefit the program to finance subsequent code enforcement. Response: Idisagreewith thisfinding.

Abatement orders are rarely used even though these may provide a swifterresolutionto a problemthanto use a searchwarrant or other "due process" techniques. Manyillegal MJ grows are easily noticed, yet most are allowedto continue without abatement and are harvested at the end ofthe growing season. Response: / agree withthisfinding