UPDATE: County supervisors reverse cannabis cultivation ordinance in Santa Cruz

UPDATE 3/4/15 6:00 p.m.: After three hours of hearing from the public Tuesday, Santa Cruz County supervisors voted 3-2 to once again regulate how much marijuana people can grow. Supervisors reversed the rule they had passed just last year. They said at the time they were on the cutting edge of medical marijuana cultivation. But they had to recognize when something wasn’t working. Now personal grows for medical purposes can only be 100 square feet in size. Growers and dispensaries argued that’s not enough space. But some Santa Cruz residents said the cultivation has gotten out of control.

The way medical marijuana is grown in Santa Cruz county is about to change. Supervisors voted to reverse a rule they made last year. Now only personal marijuana grows associated with medical patients will be allowed.

The CEO of KindPeoples Collective said the way he does business is about to change.

“We count on the vast majority of our medicine from small time growers,” Khalil Moutawakkil, CEO of KindPeoples Collective.

But in a reversal of last year’s rule, county supervisors voted to cap how much growers can cultivate, allowing personal grows to 100 square feet. Moutawakkil said not only is 100 square feet not enough for commercial growers, but it’s not even enough for personal growers.

“That part about the ten by ten isn’t going to work for us,” a person who wants to remain anonymous said.

On Tuesday, the meeting to discuss the issue was a packed and it took three hours to get through opinions both sides. Strickland said marijuana grows have invaded the county over the past few years. She and others said it’s jeopardizing public safety and changing the Santa Cruz landscape.

“We have neighbors who have sold their houses, gates have gone up, huge grows have gone in and we can detect them on Google Earth,” Bonny Doon resident Phyllis Strickland said.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said the number of illegal grows jumped from 84 in September to at least 139 currently.

“Simply just having that cultivation ordinance on the books, became an open door for a lot of people,” Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend said.

But Moutawakkil said going from 3,000 square feet in some cases to 100 is crippling.

“This is a tremendous setback for Santa Cruz. Historically, Santa Cruz has always taken a progressive approach,” Moutawakkil said,

But supervisors said being on the cutting edge of issues like medical marijuana doesn’t mean making corrections where they see a problem. The final reading of the modified ordinance will happen in the coming weeks and when finalized, will take effect either 30 or 60 days later.

UPDATE 3/24/15 1:49p.m.: Santa Cruz County supervisors voted 3-2 in favor of Option A, which reversed the ordinance that they approved a year ago. Supervisors say the county was on the cutting edge of dispensaries and cannabis cultivation and that means trying things that sometimes don’t work out. Now, the county will require only 10×10 personal grows for medicinal marijuana.

UPDATE 3/24/15 1:17p.m.: Santa Cruz County supervisors have now started to give their comments to the potential ordinance change as well as their response to the more than three hours of testimony from the public. There are two options to modifying this ordinance. Option A: Limit each grow size to 10×10 and Option B: Limit commercial cannabis cultivation sites directly connected with one of the 14 dispensaries in the county. That means that each dispensary could cultivate itself or contract with up to three cultivation businesses.

The Cannabis Advocates Alliance of Santa Cruz County also suggested doing some type of third party certification during public comment; helping to ensure growers are following the rules.

3/24/15 11:41a.m.: People have packed the Santa Cruz County supervisors meeting Tuesday morning to voice their opinion on whether a county law created last year should be modified.

The majority of people speaking during public comment are against the rule change.

Cannabis growers say they are being punished because of the disrespect of a few. Community shared grows say that some people can’t afford to have their own grow, so the CSA grows that have been set up are an opportunity for people to still grow and supply those who medically need marijuana. Those groups say they are following the rules and being courteous to the land as well as the communities they grow in.

Others who lives in the Santa Cruz mountains, in areas like Bonny Doon, say that cultivating marijuana has changed the landscape of where they live. Speakers told stories of families leaving the the area because of it, saying people can’t go on walks in certain areas because it’s dangerous. Illegal grow operators often have armed guards at their grows.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s investigators say the number of illegal growing operations has grown from 84 in September 2014 to 139 currently.

Some are concerned that the supervisors vote in February 2014 opened the flood gates for people to come to Santa Cruz to grow pot and now those people are the ones not following the rules.

Supervisors can choose to change the law back to only allowing a 10×10 foot plot in residential and rural areas.

Dispensaries say they are concerned about what that will do to the level of their supply for their patients.

County supervisors will vote on whether to take staff recommendations to only allow personal indoor grows.