Title
REF190027 - INDUSTRIAL HEMP PILOT PROGRAM
Public hearing to consider making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to adopt an ordinance to:
a. Add Chapter 21.49 to Title 21 of the Monterey County Code (non-coastal zoning) to create an industrial hemp combining zoning district ("HMP" District) containing limited pilot program regulations for cultivation and processing of industrial hemp; and
b. Amend Chapter 21.08 of the Monterey County Code to add the HMP District to the list of combining regulations, and amend the zoning classification to apply the HMP zoning designation to certain properties in the unincorporated area.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Planning Commission adopt a resolution recommending that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Find that the ordinance represents a minor alteration in land use limitations and applies for a limited term for the purposes of collecting information on industrial hemp cultivation which is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Sections 15305 and 15306 and none of the exceptions listed in Section 15300.2 apply; and
2. Adopt an ordinance (Exhibit A) adding Chapter 21.49 to Title 21 of the Monterey County Code (non-coastal zoning) to create an industrial hemp combining zoning district ("HMP" District) containing limited pilot program regulations for cultivation and processing of industrial hemp; and amending Chapter 21.08 of the Monterey County Code to add the HMP District to the list of combining regulations, and amending the zoning classification to apply the HMP zoning designation to certain properties in the unincorporated area; and
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Recent legislation has made the cultivation of industrial hemp for fiber, seed, and extracts legal at the federal and state levels. Industrial hemp production includes cultivation of cannabis sativa plants, the same species of plant cultivated for the still federally illegal cannabis market. The legal dis...
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