The Humboldt County Planning Commission last night gave its thumbs-up to Sun Valley Floral Farm’s giant proposed cannabis farm in the Arcata Bottoms. The board voted 5-2 in favor of the project, with at-large commissioner Brian Mitchell and Fifth District commissioner Peggy O’Neill dissenting.
The proposal, technically put forward by an entity known as “Arcata Land Company, LLC,” which is controlled by Sun Valley, would include 8 acres of cannabis cultivation, in both mixed-light greenhouses and light deprivation structures, along with 30,000 square feet of nursery. It would employ a maximum of 80 people.
Though the project was cut down in response to citizen concerns – originally it would have a 23-acre footprint – it will still be the largest cannabis cultivation operation in the county.
The commission approved, as part of its vote, a negative declaration of environmental impact, rather than requiring a full environmental impact report (EIR). Commissioner Noah Levy asked Planning Director John Ford to explain why this was the case, given that so many neighbors of the project are concerned about potential impacts — smell, traffic, light pollution — why that would be the case.
After giving a little primer on the particulars of the California Environmental Quality Act, Ford said that while many people — presumably opponents of projects — consider an EIR a “panacea,” in fact its purpose is to list reasons why a local agency might approve a project despite unmitigable environmental impacts. As far as analysis of impacts goes, the two types of reports are much the same.
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