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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmarijuana ordinance correspondenceMoghannam, Kathleen From: Smith, Jerry Sent: Friday, February 25, 2091 9:36 AM To: Cook, Holly; Moghannam, Kathleen; Lambert, Steve; Kirk, Maureen; Yamaguchi, Kim; Connelly, Bill; Wahl, Larry Cc: Ramsey, Mike Subject: RE: Re. Butte county Board of Supervisors meetinglmedical marijuana ordinance -Attended meeting -Pro ordinance -had to leave before name was called In the past few days I have received a number of calls from those who would have been in the minority at the meeting. They tell me they took time off from work to attend but would not have journeyed through the intimidation in the front of the building. I believe good people can provide a message and not have to stand before the board to do so. Mr.. Lambert stated at the conclusion of the meeting, he received many calls and the majority were in favor of the ordinance. [ make no secret of the fact, this thing is a full an fake. i will continue to fight the fight when and wherever I can. JW From: Cook, Holly Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 9:01 AM To: Moghannam, Kathleen Cc: Smith, Jerry; Ramsey, Mike Subject: FW: Re. Butte county Board of Supervisors meeting medical marijuana ordinance -Attended meeting -Pro ordinance -had to leave before name was called Kathleen; This email was sent to all board members. It is very well written and Supervisor Connelly wants to make sure it is dis#ributed to all that usually receive board correspondence. Thank you. Holly M Cook Executive Assisfant To Supervisor Bill Connelly Phone 530-538-6834 Fax 534-538-6881 From: windsongranch4@aol.com [mailto:windsongranch4@aol.comj Sent; Wednesday, February 23, 2011 10:56 PM To: Connelly, Bill Cc: Wahl, Larry; Kirk, Maureen; BOS ©istrict 4; Yamaguchi, Kim; scott_stevenson@att.net; sswippert@bergslaw.com; Im itchell@ch icoer.cam Subject: Re. Butte county Board of Supervisors meeting medical marijuana ordinance -Attended meeting -Pro ordinance -had to leave before name was called Hello Butte County Board of Supervisors, My name is Cynthia Stevenson and I reside in Cherokee, an unincorporated area of Oroville and Butte County. I attended yesterdays meeting, but had to leave before my name was called to speak before you and the audience. Please take the time to read what I would have liked to have shared with you yesterday. I was in the minority and was overshadowed by the anti-ordinance medical marijuana faction. have resided in Butte County since 1980. I am a registered nurse who has worked at Feather River Hospital in Paradise for 20 years. My total years in nursing is 25 years having started at Community Hospital in Chico. I work in the field of home health. This means I see patients in their homes in the rural areas of Concow, Yankee Hill, Cherokee, Oroviile and Magalia. These patients have acute medical needs and are discharged from home health once their conditQn has becom/e stable. f/ ~ ~ ~~ ~~.~~ ~As a nurse, I voted for proposition 215 because at that time Zofran, a powerful and effec#ive anti-nausea medication had not yet been made available to patients who were undergoing chemo and radiation therapy. Marinol a derivative of marijuana which treats poor appetite and cachexia was not available either. f would have never envisioned the abuse of proposition 215 that I see as a nurse and as a property owner of 10 acres in Cherokee. As a nurse, !see patients, most are younger in years, who have medical marijuana. All of them are on medi-cal, on disability and have a prior history of substance abuse. Not one of these patients would I consider an upstanding individual. Not one! And their health complain#s for which they have their "medicine" has not been far a terminal diagnosis but far complaints of back pain, flbromyalgia, anxiety disorders or carpal tunnel syndrome, among others. Please note I do not work with hospice patients which is for terminal diagnoses such as cancer. What I can tell you about these patients who claim they do not have "insurance like the wea!#hy", is that on medi-cal they have much at their disposal, including mul#iple narcotic analgesics in addition to their medical marijuana. To say medical marijuana is the only medicine they have access to is false. I see it first hand and I see the addictive personality that has used medico! marijuana to continue with their addiction and to supplement their income. Many of these individuals grew marijuana before Prop 215, only to have more leniency under the guise of Prop 215. Igo into what I consider many questionable and unsafe homes which have a criminal atmosphere. I now take the liberty to look at these individuals prior and current conviction retards due to my concerns of safety. The court records only validate what I know to be true. I recognized and have come into contact with several individuals in the audience yesterday. Again, these are not individuals you would wan# in your circle of friends, nor would you wan# them as your neighbors. These individuals are profiting monekarily from marijuana which was not the intent of the proposi#ion. This is why they showed up in force, to defend what is a livelihood for them. Now as an owner of a beautiful piece of land that !consider mine to tend and care for, it has been marred by the Proposition 2'15 growers that bought their land adjacent to mine after 1 purchased my property. The marijuana grow is a stones throw away from where I carry on my daily chores on my land. Let me take the time to say here that I purchased my land with legal tender and still owe a considerable amount of money on the property. The Prop 215 growers purchased their land with cash and I can assure you it was no# legal #ender. I spoke with the realtor at Remax who sold the property to the marijuana growers and he stated to me he doubted they could come up "with the rest of the cash to buy the property", but they did. From the time the owner started his business venture next door, I have had nothing but problems. A neighbor dispute? Far more than this, ra#her harrassement, theft of my property, intimidation tactics, threats and stalking by these indivduals. You, the board, had a sampling of these threats yesterday at the board meeting. My life has in essence been turned upside down by all that I have experienced. What are my rights as a tax paying citizen who has a dream to have a hobby farm #o enjoy in my re#irement? I have gathered three years of information an these individuals, court convictions, newspaper articles and public documents to put the pieces together as to why I am being stalked on a regular basis, not as frequent in Cherokee, but in Paradise where I work. I have photographs, license plate numbers and most importantly witnesses. The information have gathered far my lawyer and far law enforcement is more information than I ever cared to know about these individuals. I have had to call code enforcement as well regarding the marijuana growers because of lack of sanitation on #heir property, a poorly constructed fence which blew over the last two winters onto my easement and my property. The marijuana growers were attempting to live on the property in tents and RV's, play laud music, yell obscenities and to top if off, having to hear the generator for the well pump into the late hours of the night. The sound is magnified here with the lay of the land. I have also had to calf animal control regarding the camp pit bu[I that has attacked my livestock, runs amuck on my property and threatens me with growling. The pit bul! has also attempted to bite me while I was riding my mountain bike past the fortress fence an my easement into my land. Is this neighborly conduct, is this respectful behavior by these individuals? Absolutely not. I know you the supervisors of this county would not tolerate this, nor should I have to tolerate it. Lastly, in an attempt to protect myself, I have taken out restraining orders on these individuals which includes their cohorts due to being stalked. My life is being threatened and I do not take this lightlyl There is so much more that I could state but frankly I'm tired of the whole mess. There needs #o bean ordinance to regulate the ABUSE of medical marijuana. People who do not reside in this county should not be allowed #o grow marijuana in Butte County. I see too many out of state license plates through the growing season, primarily Nevada and Colorado in my neighborhood. And despite what the marijuana users say, they can afford to pay the fees. Tell them to take the money out from under the mattress or from under the floor boards of their homes. Don't be fooled by their unkept appearances, dont' be fooled by those who are streetwise and savvy to the court system. I am standing my ground, what will happen next remains to be seen depending on how the county deals with the ongoing problems associated with Proposition 215 growers. I have included pictures as a reference for you to better understand my situation. I would also like to invite any of you to my home sa you have a better understanding of what goes on in this county. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Cynthia Stevenson _ '~ ,~~-, ~ ..,- i i :~ F ~' ~ ~ _, ' ~~~~j ;~ t .~,f ..~. ~i ~~: .~ !~ ~~ - - `~-J--~` ,~~, 1 s `fHk ~ 4 Fyn - T1"k%~,~' sti' e~~ b~,.4 fi 1 ~ ., xl~ r,-. ~ ~ ~~ a f ~.~~v' i ~~' ,~~ 1 ~ 'ate ~ ~rC~. F L N'.' n lt yh ~3 1 ... .~i.y+V%1_r 111 .. ':h.Y n " .. '~F a ~ ~ v "~ C 1 • 4 tF y ~ -.~ A~•. a ,} 1 . », - ,.r'- . i,v~1 Moghannam, Kathleen -' w"'~FSUA~I~yISpA From: Ken [whitekp@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2091 4:02 PM FEB ~ ~ 2D'1 To: Moghannam, Kathleen Subject: Medical Cannabis ~~OVlCLE, CALlFp~N1A Hi I live in butte county, I am a user of cannabis for medical reasons. I have studied Prop 215 and SB 420. The California State Supreme Caurt Ruled on that SB 424 sec. is unconstitutional and that the Government in any capacity can not amend Prop.215. The Constitution of California is very unique in that no Government body or individual can amend a Propasisition by the People once passed. It can only be amended by the People. There for there can be no limit set by the Government in na way far which one is growing for his or her own use and or anyone else that is under a doctors care for what ever ales them and recommends that they medicate themselves using Cannabis. How much? Consume as much as need to relive the discomfort. How much is that? Well only the Patient knows how much to take and ik changes from time to time and with what strain of Cannabis and how potent it is and I could go on but will save it for another time. I would suggest that you appoint a committee consisting of at lest 3 pro and 3 con and 3 County members to look into how to get this done and a middle of the road Chair Person that knows how to run a board meeting and keep order. Our Constitutional rights are at risk and the way the Federal Gov is going right now it may take only a spark to light the fire, medamorphgly??? speaking of course. So Please do the right thing.... Gc ; ~~ C~,Cd.Ca.~,l Mo hannam, Kathleen From: Moghannam, Kathleen Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 10:23 AM To: BOS Cc: Hahn, Paul Subject: FW: Opposition to Marijuana Grow Operations Below is correspondence received Tuesday. I do not believe provided a hard copy of this email to you that day. This will be included in Board correspondence. Kathleen Moghannam Assistant Clerk of the Board Butte County Administration 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 Oroville, CA 95965 530-538-7643 From: Bruce & Audrey Chikalla [mailto:b achikalla@yahoo,coml Sent; Tuesday, February 22, 2011 12;57 PM To: Moghannam, Kathleen Subject: Opposition to Marijuana Grow Operations am writing this email in opposition to the plan to allow medical marijuana grows in unincorporated Butte County. The dangers and increase in crime are not what is needed now or ever. We have enough trouble getting the Sheriff s department to respond out here in a timely manner. I will say they have responded quickly whenever I have called, but I realize that when crime is happening, time is of the essence in their response and they are not able to get out here quick enough to catch some of the acts that occurr. My feeling is that no growing should occurr whatsoever, near residences with children especially. Thank you for hearing my case and Zook forward to the action of the Board of Supervisors. M05t Sincerely, Bruce C. Chikalla-Pastor Bangor Community Church Bangor, CA (j / ~~ ~ Q~ CJkl7 Moghannam, Kathleen From: Moghannam, Kathleen Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 2:54 PM To: BOS Cc: Hahn, Paul Subject: Petitions submitted at meeting Board members- €?uring the marijuana cuitivatian ordinance hearing yesterday, a number of individuals submitted petitions for the Board's record. There are 62 pages of petitions. These petitions will remain an file and are available for your review. If you would like copies of the petitions to retain in your district offices, please let me know. Thanks, Kathleen Moghannam Assistant Clerk of the Board Butte County Administration 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 Oroville, CA 95965 530-538-7643 ~~ ~; ~ Mo hannam, Kathleen From: Yamaguchi, Kim Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 1:17 PM To: Moghannam, Kathleen Subject: 1=W: Stop the grow FYI From: timhas2Ca?comcast.net [mailtoaimhas2@comcast.netl Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 8:44 AM To: BOS District 4; Yamaguchi, Kim; Kir[c, Maureen; Wahl, Larry; Connelly, Bill Subject: Stap the grow Dear Supervisors I live on the corner of Bay Ave and Almond Court and have had to suffer the skunk-like stench that comes from two growing operations near my house. I don't want marijuana grown in my neighborhood. In addition to putting up with the smell, I fear for the safely of my home and family. Marijuana growers themselves have been robbed and I don't want that type of violence in any neighborhoods. Growing operations will increase home burglaries, vandalism and unnecessary traffic. Please stop any marijuana growing in all neighborhoods in our county. Respectfully, Tim McMahon 3260 Say Ave Chico, CA 95973 ~~ cy„~ C~ IX~S Noticeth~at thisordii~a~o~, ir~c~u,deb-fair~s~~backs,;fencir~g requirements o.n smaller pare~ls, artd 'allows~:aslight increase in the":nurnberf of plants":on medium-sized, parcels to accommodate 'n~vving the•.plants from largegrows on:sr~afl:parcels"to;more adequate~sized...parcels, given "th"at .. ,. ; :few parcels are use and,owned :by patienfis over 20 "acr.~s given their cost. Certainly (here"are" hundreds more,Z to 20-acre"parcels than 160 acres and not having parcels to absorb ;patients from the small parcels would be problematic. Also, this ordinance recognizes that at sortie paint fencing becames a moot paint.on the medium to large parcels and :that most are fenced. These parcels are verytypicallyamang other similarly sized"parcels and tl7e residences are. spaced far apart as well. Current~building setbacks on such parcels evidence this fact: Of note" ~_ is ghat this ordinan"ce proposed by the landowners and growing comrriunty accomplishes :everything as the previously proposed ordinance except that ft excludes."law enforcement Pram 'the mix and truly is a "land use" ordinance that can be respected as such. This ordinance also addresses-same major legal issues, One is that requiring a .landowner to "issue a letter in writing allowing cultivation has the effect of passible self incrimination in the federal courts, which is prohi;b:ited by the fifth amendment to the constitution., Such a . requirement also infringes upon the landlord/tenants'";rights to contract as they see fit without inter.Ference of the government as"a.-third,party:to:the:agreernent. ~ " A~nother.~legal: problem"that is overcome by thls.ordinance"rs the"act af:vialating a landowner's private property rights-ta control ,everylegai reafproperty holding inde,penclent:from .another. ~r . l~ C . ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~ l ~~ property held byhim or her. Each legal parcel must stand alone fflr all legal purposes what-so everas intended by the county and the landowner upon its legal creation. There has been na such exception far any other similarsuch;purpose. Another legal issue soled here-in is the idea that one can be forced to submit to law en',forceEnent search, examination, and scrutiny upon their private property without their pern~issian or a warrant to do;so. This reeks of constitutional violations of one's. rights o self incrimination, enjoyment of privacy; and other freedoms gran#edchere-under. Certainly na ard'rnance can be enforced allowing such blatant violations nor can.-any citiaen,be expected to submit to-such intrusion into their private lives. Please mane forward in your endeavors in this positive way to address this issue as anypther will certainly be challenged'in court and will be unpalatabie by every member of the a€fected - parties. Clearljr, this is a mandatory step ire the right=direction and to proceed in-any tiCher way is an example of the:despisetl over=regulation and unnecessary expenses-that are at the ... forefrantof our current're~olt'against abuses of.the taxpayers and:citizens by the goiernritent. - ` ` The previous vrdinanee must be discarded as no amount of "tweaking" can make it acceptable, -while this ordinance can have widely accepted support and 6e affordable to all. County staff should be presented with this ordinance immediately to minimize a waste of their valuaiale time. Signed: A coalition of Butte County patients and landowners ,. .. i _ _ , I ~,_ - _ .. February 27; 2011 To: ;Board of Supervisors. In Ret Butire County Med'reinal Marijuana Ordinance- [)e:ar Sirs and Madam,.. AfEer careful consideration, ofthe need of an ordinance, review of the proposed ordinance presented at the February 25, 2011.meeting,o#your board,',list~r~i~g to the comments at that meeting, constJltation with legal counsel, and discussion amofrg the affected landowners and patients, the following dett~ands are hereby.made by our community members: -. 1. That any ordinahce be:only eornpiaintdnven' by an immediate neighbor. 2. That no site inspection or permit and ;the payment of any fees be required except that upon a complaint driven:inspection where :the person is found to be out:of compliance, a fee may b.e. -. levied upon the violating, person for the caunty's.cost of Garrection or aE?atement. Said fee is:to ,, be levied, uponthe person as an individual-and shall'not become a lien upon ariy real.property. 3. That the setback on lots Smaller than one half acre shall be nq.le5s than`fifteen: feet from the ,. property line, be feni:eci and obsci}rei~ firori~ view-from a neighboring occupied ;property, and. those lots shall be allowed nn.more than six mature plantsand ix ~mii~atureplants: 4. That tlie;setbaek on lots from ohe `half acre to ane'acre be;increased, to;fwenty five feet with' 12' maturepfants permitted and 12 immature plants, and be fienced and obscured fram'view.pf-the neighboring occupied lots. 5. That lots from. one acre to two acres have a setback of forty feet a'nd allow:up to 18 ma#ure .,plants, and 18 immature plants, and-be obscured"by clear~iewfrom.an:occuped neigFibarng ,: property'iay fence, shrubbery,:a structure or by any other.effecti~e method. '6. .That lots from twoacres to 5 acres have setbacks of fifty feet and:aElow up to 20mature plants and 24 immature plants, and be obscured from view from any neighboring property with a `residence within one hundred feet of the property line. 7. That lots from5 acres to 20 acres have a setback of 75 feet and allow up to 24 mature plants and 24 immature plants and that are #enced with a 5 foot fence unless the property has any type .of perimeter fencing. S That lots #rom 20 acres and up have a x.50 foot setback and°allow up~to ~8 mature°plants`and 48 immature plants, and na fencing or obscuring is necessary. 9, That any plants within 150 feet from any public roadway or designated bike/pedestrian path be obscured from view from such a path or roadway. 10. That na letter of permission shall be required from any landowner to allow the cultivation of marijuana, as this is solely within the IandlordJtenantcontractual arrangement_ 11. That, having met all previous county requirements for subdivision, no legally created lot shall be subject to being merged back into one lot far any reason within this ordinance and shall be considered to have all rights and privileges of any other legal separate lot under this ordinance. 12. Any indoor marijuana grow shall be limited in size to no more than one room no larger than 14 feet by ~4 feet (to allow room far workings or in any shape no larger than that same amounrof square feet with no more than 99. plants tas they. are grown miniature in size} and th.e growing room must be set back a minimum of 10 feet #rom any property Tine. marijuana ~a~€enis ana~tau-ed by:fihe 5`tate.ofOregan. ~GC.trG4 d~ SLc~o~°CyisClr~ Council Members, As !read the local paper this past week 1 began to be concerned by the ever increasing topic of marijuana growing. I was sickened by the comments, no threats, made by those who would appose the bill that puts a stop to the growth of "medicinal" marijuana. The violent and bullying manner in which they are pushing their rights to grow truly scares me. 3 know Steven Cherms. My ex Taekwanda teacher. His threats to have all of the officials impeached was spoken in his typical "Reverend" style. Abusive, angry and controlling. A type of insanity that could only be created by his addiction to drugs and money. His motives are not for the people. He is not speaking for the majority but only yelling to protect himself and the huge crop that he is already growing and invested thousands of dollars in. "Medicinal" Marijuana farmers are not fighting for the sick and their pain anymore. They are fighting for POW1=R, GREED and ADDICTION. Since this whole marijuana trend has started, I have heard nothing but talk from our college aged youth about how much money their crop has made ar haw stoned they got just before class. I have heard and read numerous complaints about how neighbors are outraged because of the pot farm next door. The smell, the fear for their children's safety... Oroville is already known for being the meth capitol of California. It has had that reputation since the i980's. Denial from our city government about this reputation has been an ugly thing. Denial has created a city where many are possessed and dying from their addiction to meth. What are we saying if we allow marijuana to infiltrate as well? have heard many people say; "Marijuana isn't harmful." "Smoking pot isn't addictive:' "People who smoke marijuana aren't violent or threatening people.° These are the same people who would shoot someone for coming onto their land to protect their Cash Crap. The very same people who cannot go a day without smoking pat. They wake up each morning and light up. They can't function in every day social activities without being stoned. They can't even go to college without taking a hit. These are the very same~people who, like Steven Cherms, would threaten our jabs and livelihood. Not passing this bill would be a large and dangerous error. Allowing yourselves to be bullied by citizens that oppose it is a huge mistake. Oraville can be known far the city that doesn't promote drugs anymore instead of the city that condones them. Instead of starting a whole new problem, a whole new addiction, GEf-PEOPLE OFF METH! First, weed out the corrupt off€cials (the grass-eaters) that turn their heads to the drug problem in Oroville. Then reinforce the drug task farce. Last but not least, start more anti-meth programs. i support the bill that would put a stop to the growth of marijuana in the backyards of our city. Many people support it. BOARD p~St1pE~~OR$ Mai ~ ~ ~~ir OROV1tLl;, CALi1rORN1R Cc . ~l ~~ I Mo hannam, Kathleen Frorn: Bennett, Robin Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 2:15 PM To: Moghannam, Kathleen; Hahn, Paul Subject: FW: Support of Proposed Marijuana Ordinance FYI ,forwarding more correspondence. uobiw gewwett, i=xecutir/e A-ssistAwt to supervisor ICir2c Yavtcaguchi ~"tL! District O f fice, GOUwtI~ O f guttC ~~ ~lCiott RoRd Paradise, e,4, ysy~y (,~so) 8~2-~30~ rbewwettC~buttecouwtra. wet From: Brad Laffins [mailto:rlafFns{alyahoo.com] Sent: Friday, March 04, 201 7:54 AM To: Kirk, Maureen; Connelly, Bill; Wahl, Larry; BOS District 4; Yamaguchi, Kim Subject: Support of Proposed Marijuana Ordinance Dear Butte County Supervisors, I am writing for my support ofthe proposed marijuana Ordinance to control the medical marijuana growing situation in Butte County. I am a resident of District 3. I live at 4633 Hicks Lane, Chico. The lots in this area are generally one acre or more. I have a neighbor that is one house away. He is growing marijuana with several other people. I would estimate that they have 60 plants on the property. Even though the grow site is not next door, I can still smell the stench of the marijuana. Not only that, after he harvests his "crop" or "medicine", he burns the remainder of the plants in a barrel at night and continues the stink parade. He does this burning before the official burn season begins. My biggest concern is safety in the neighborhood. So far I have not seen any criminal activity, but it is bound to happen someday. Some type of control over these types of operations needs to happen. Perhaps I am the stupid one for trying to go out and earn a living and not growing marijuana for profit. Judging from the constant new construction on his house, it looks to be very lucrative. Thank you for your time. Respectfully, Ray (Brad) Laffms 4633 Hicks Lane Chico, Ca 95973 (530)570-5030 (Cell) (530)345-9740 {Home) Jodi To: LWahlCa~buttecaunty.net Subjerrc Marijuana in Butte County 1-las anyone even considered having all pat plant growing illegal by private.citizens? What is wrong with having those who would like to use marijuana for pain get a prescription from their doctor and purchase marinol {marijuana in pill form) tablets from the pharmacies. Problem of the number of plants on a plot of land any size taken care af. All other pain medications are purchased that way. No smoke in the lungs and no smelly plants in the neighborhoods AND crime against those who grow on their small large properties would be reduced. Safety in the neighborhoods! I can't recall the last time someone on a prescription drug for pain was hit over the head or their front door kicked in far their prescription drug. PLEASE...before passing any new laws or ordinances think about this one idea. I have several neighbors growing pot and a few of those are totally out of control when they personalty use it. Wreckiess driving in the neighborhood, yelling, fighting, loud music, cars coming and going all times of the day and night, doors kicked in, burglaries and other crimes... and we live in an area called Kelly Ridge that is supposed to bean upscale, peaceful area to live. Pot has been harvested in the neighborhood and all hl*ll breaks loose. Marinoi by prescription, legally purchased from pharmacies is the only way to control this mess our society is in. Will you please glue it some serious attention and thought. thank you for Itstening. Jodi and Wendel Vantine Kelly Midge resident ~,~a~~~~ ~a 8~ yw ~,~ ,/ ~~~s, d~~~G~s~ -_i'TE COL'S ;` ~ist~ztt=_. r;..;:~ 6 ~ 20~i ORO«LE, CA~.IEOR.~~,~