COUNTY COUNSEL'S OFFICE - B. THOMPSON

Receive and review the Planning Commission recommendations and a staff presentation, open the public hearing and receive comments from the public, close the public hearing, discuss the proposed amendments and alternatives, and adopt an ordinance making the proposed amendments to the Hemp Entities provisions of Chapter 7.04 of the San Benito County Code.

SBC FILE NUMBER: 160

ORDINANCE NO: 1,003

In the course of the first year of implementation of the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, Food and Agriculture Code section 81000, et seq., shortcomings of San Benito County's Hemp Entities Ordinance No. 989, San Benito County Code Chapter 7.04, adopted September 24, 2019 became apparent. Conflicts with residential development, especially in the unincorporated county, and the San Benito Wine/Hospitality Priority Area, as identified in the 2035 San Benito County General Plan, aka the Wine Trail, and theft, vandalism and Sheriff and other law enforcement service calls, prompted the Board of Supervisors to establish an ad hoc committee of Supervisors Hernandez and Bothelo to address the issues. 

Because Chapter 7.04 is based on the County's authority to regulate land use and zoning, amendments must follow the procedures of Government Code section 65853 - 65857, with public hearings to be held by both the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors

The ad hoc committee met with staff from the Agricultural Commissioner, Sheriff,  County Counsel, Planning and the CAO's office to develop proposals to amend Chapter 7.04, to ameliorate the unforeseen impacts of outdoor hemp cultivation, as well as drying, processing, and manufacturing facilities.  Staff presented the proposed amendments at a stakeholders meeting, including representatives of the Farm Bureau, wine and hemp industries, and impacted residents on January 7, 2020, and to the Planning Commission of January 15, 2020. Feedback was widely positive in support of the staff proposal, with a few additions and modifications.

The Planning Commission recommended two changes:

1. That the Wine/Hospitality Overlay Area exclusion zone be modified to a 1-mile setback from existing visitor serving facilities (e.g. tasting rooms, wineries that conduct tours, restaurants or cafes, bed & breakfast inns, etc.), so that large areas of the overlay area that don't have visitor oriented facilties would not be unavailable for outdoor hemp cultivation or processing facilities; and,

2. The 500-foot setback from public roads (County roads and state highways) be reduced to 100 feet, provided that a 6-foot fence and visual barrier exist along the road frontage.

The ad hoc committee and stakeholders group met again with staff on January 29 to review the Planning Commission recommendations. The ad hoc committee and stakeholders group recommend further modifications to the Ordinance within the range of alternatives considered by the Planning Commission as a compromise that is supported by representatives of the public, the wine industry, and hemp industry.