The Calaveras County Planning Commission on Thursday denied five appeals by would-be cannabis farmers seeking to register commercial cultivation sites, including one from a man who rented a former gymnastics studio at the old Calaveras County airport
near San Andreas that was eventually raided and shut down by the Calaveras County Sheriffs Office.
The various applicants had their registration applications rejected for a variety of reasons. In the case of Raphael Calderon, those reasons included that he failed to provide adequate proof that he had already been cultivating cannabis at the gymnastics studio site before May 10, 2015, as required by the urgency ordinance that regulates the industry.
Calderon and his attorney Matthew Clark argued, in part, that signing a lease for the warehouse-like building and remodeling work started there before May 10 were proof that he was making substantial preparation to cultivate. For outdoor grows, county officials accept photographic evidence of grading work or construction of irrigation systems. Calderon and his attorney noted that an indoor site does not require grading and so they could not provide photographs of grading as proof.
The urgency ordinance adopted on May 10, 2015, was intended to halt a land rush by cannabis farmers. It only allows those who were cultivating cannabis or who had made substantial investments before that date to apply to be registered growers.
County planning staff argued that the evidence Calderon submitted was inadequate, both because there was no actual cultivation happening and because the 8,000-square-foot space in Calderons photographs wasnt big enough to house the 10,000-square-foot grow site he said he was preparing. It was only later in the summer that Calderon leased adjoining units with enough space to cultivate 10,000 square feet of cannabis.
Until Calderon got control of the entire building, other businesses were operating there, including a gymnastics studio.
Our position is you cant prepare a cultivation site in a building where another business is operation, said Calaveras County Planning Director Peter Maurer.
Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said that when his personnel raided the building in late October, there was only a relatively small growing area with 56 plants. Instead of cultivation, investigators found most of the leased building filled with dozens of workers trimming marijuana that had been brought to the site from other cannabis growing locations, DiBasilio said.
DiBasilio also said that Calderon sub-leased space to other cannabis businesses.
Calderon said that the marijuana trimmers arrested by the Sheriffs Office had nothing to do with him and that he had not sub-leased the property to anyone else.
I have one person that helps me out, Calderon said. There is no one from my company that was arrested.
Planning commissioners clearly were skeptical of Calderons explanation.
If there were no other sub leases, then why are these other people in the building working there? asked Commissioner Benjamin Stopper.
Stopper never got an answer. And when Clark argued that Calderon could not be held responsible for the actions of others, Maurer said, There is only one registrant, your client.
The commission voted 4-0, with Commissioner Lisa Muetterties, absent to deny Calderons appeal.
In the other cannabis registration cases, the commission:
Voted 4-0 to deny the appeal of Yoseph Xiong of Yos Green Leaf Gardens over the denial of his application to register a commercial growing site at 674 Smitty Lane in West Point. Planning staff members reported that Xiong failed to provide evidence he was cultivating there before May 10.
Voted 4-0 to deny the appeal of Jay McGaughran of the denial of his application to register a commercial growing site at 597 Ridge Road in Rail Road Flat. Planning staff members reported that DiBasilio informed them that a background check determined that McGaughran failed to report three arrests, a misdemeanor conviction and a felony conviction. McGaughran was disqualified for that failure to disclose.
Voted 3-1 with Commissioner Ted Allured opposed to deny the appeal of Chuck Wong of C.W. Lucky LLC of the denial of Wongs application to register a cultivation site at 1820 Meadow View Road in West Point. Planning staff members reported that Wong failed to provide proof that he had obtained a California state sellers permit.
Voted 4-0 to deny the appeal of Justin Moler of Running Wolf Gardens of the denial of Molers application to register a cultivation site at 2063 Appaloosa Way outside Angels Camp. Staff members reported that Moler did grading work after June 3 to expand the growing area, a violation of the urgency ordinance.
In other business, the commission reconvened as an administrative hearing board to consider two appeals of citation letters ordering the abatement of cannabis cultivation sites. The commission voted 4-0 to deny those appeals for cultivation sites at 4368 Eazy Bird Way, Wilseyville and at 14525 Waldears Path, Sheep Ranch.
In the case of the Sheep Ranch site, property owner Morgan Groover asked the commission to forgive $3,000 in fines assessed against him because he was three days late turning evidence that he had abated the farm. After considering the timing of the various communications between code enforcers and Groover, the commission granted his request.
Failing to comply with cannabis abatement orders can, under county rules, result in assessments of $1,000 per day. Deputy County Counsel Ethan Turner acknowledged that county leaders may want to consider fine tuning the code that addresses how violators are notified and when the fines begin. He said the current rules were adopted for junk car and building code violations where fines are usually only $50 a day, making it less expensive for a property owner to be a few days late complying. Right now, a property owner could be late getting notice of a violation simply because he or she doesnt check his or her mail box for some period of time.
Turner said that in one current cannabis abatement case, the property owner in question has already accrued $58,000 in fines.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Commission Denies Appeal For Old Airport Cannabis Site In San Andreas
Author: Dana M. Nichols
Contact: 209-754-3861
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
