YSFB Supports Ordinance to Restrict Marijuana Cultivation

Taylor Hillman General

marijuana
At their recent regular board meeting, the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau Board of Directors voted to support a proposed Sutter County ordinance that would restrict marijuana cultivation.

The ordinance would define the cultivation of marijuana within 2,000 feet of any school, church, park or youth-oriented facility as a public nuisance; it would enact thorough documentation requirements for growers of medical marijuana; and would require that any cultivation of marijuana be fully enclosed by a minimum 6-foot fence, set back 100 to 1,000 feet from premise boundaries.

The Sutter County Board o f Supervisors unanimously passed the first reading of the ordinance at their September meeting. With the necessary votes, the ordinance will be adopted at the October 22 board meeting.

“We believe this ordinance as written is an important first step in implementing needed regulation of medical marijuana growth,” YSFB President Jon Munger said. “We encourage the Board of Supervisors to pursue future amendments to the ordinance to address protection of water quality from the unregulated use of chemicals and pesticides by marijuana cultivators.”

Over the past year there have been several home invasions in Rio Oso that were attributed to marijuana cultivation. Personal safety and quality of life in Sutter County’s rural communities are in jeopardy from illegal marijuana grows and the crime caused by them, Munger said.

“If growing medical marijuana is to be allowed in Sutter County, we must enforce strict limitations on cultivation to protect the safety and quality of life in of our rural communities,” Munger said.

The Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary membership California Corporation whose purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout Yuba and Sutter counties, by representing over 1,250 local YSFB members.