Introduce by title only, waive first reading, receive public comment, and continue to the next regularly-scheduled Board meeting for adoption an ordinance entitled "An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Yolo Amending Certain Application Timeframes in the Cannabis Land Use Ordinance," and provide related direction on use permit application timeframe adjustments. (No general fund impact) (Pogledich)

A.  The Ordinance.

The local cannabis industry, as envisioned in the Cannabis Land Use Ordinance (CLUO), includes four categories of current and prospective industry participants:
 
1. Existing licensees outside Capay Valley
2. Existing licensees outside Capay Valley that must relocate (due to location in a residential zone, etc.)
3. Capay Valley cultivators
4. New licensees

The CLUO and related administrative procedures currently include the following deadlines and related use permit processing and approval targets:
 
December 16, 2022  -  Use permit application deadline for existing licensees
March 31, 2023  -  Deadline to cease cultivating if (a) no use permit application filed, or (b) if licensee is located in a residential zone
June 30, 2023  -  Target date for final County action on use permit applications**
July 5-September 29, 2023  -  Target timeframe for allocation of non-cultivation license types**
October 15, 2023  -  Use permit application deadline for new applicants**
March 31, 2024  -  Deadline to cease cultivating if use permit not received
**Administrative deadline only; not in the County Code
 
In light of economic uncertainties affecting the regulated cannabis industry, staff propose to revise the application and processing timeframes in certain minor respects. The staff evaluation of this issue considered and balanced several factors, including (a) the need to avoid extending current conditions deemed problematic (e.g., cultivation in rural residential zones, overconcentration in Capay Valley), and (b) the need to avoid delaying vertical integration for interested cultivators. This led to a recommendation to propose no changes to application deadlines for:

However, solely for existing licensees outside Capay Valley that do NOT want to seek additional non-cultivation license types, staff propose to extend the following deadlines and related processing/approval timeframes by one year:

These changes are set forth in the attached ordinance (Attachment A) amending the CLUO. A "track changes" version with the proposed edits to relevant CLUO language is included as Attachment B. Please note that the target date referenced in the second bullet is an administrative timeframe that does not appear in the CLUO, and hence it is not addressed in the attached ordinance. The administrative deadline for new licensees to seek a use permit will also roll back by one year, to October 15, 2024. 

B.  Additional Direction.

In preparing the attached ordinance, staff also discussed whether existing licensees that seek to relocate but are subject to a December 16, 2022 deadline should receive additional time to apply. Relocation is a challenging endeavor due to the limited availability of suitable parcels, particularly in light of CLUO buffer and zoning restrictions. While the proposed ordinance does not include any timeframe extensions for applicants seeking relocation, the Board could promote relocation by directing staff to return with a separate ordinance affording existing licensees more time to file an application if they are seeking relocation. For example, Capay Valley cultivators and cultivators that must relocate due to zoning restrictions could be afforded an additional year to apply (through December 15, 2023) without any detriment to program objectives so long as existing restrictions on continued cultivation in their current locations remain unchanged (i.e., March 31, 2023). In other words, these licensees would not be able to continue cultivating longer than allowed under the original CLUO, but the opportunity to relocate could be extended an additional year.  

The benefit of this approach is that it will allow these licensees to maintain "Existing Licensee" status even if they do not apply by December 16, 2022. Existing licensees are afforded priority in obtaining cultivation licenses and do not have to compete with new applicants unless they fail to apply by the applicable deadline. Board direction on this issue is desired.

Community Services, County Counsel