Industrial hemp growers are one more step closer to cultivating again in El Dorado County. Now that the El Dorado County Planning Commission approved unanimously to amend its county zoning ordinance to make way for an industrial hemp pilot program, the ordinance will go through a second reading for approval at a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors on November 1.
The board adopted a resolution of intent to amend Title 130 of the county’s Zoning Ordinance to enact regulations for farming industrial hemp on September 20 after putting a series of moratoriums on its cultivation.
The county Planning Commission made a few edits to the original draft of the ordinance. Those included a change in setbacks in residential areas from 200 to 600 feet and removing references to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office in the section about inspections, a source of disagreement between law enforcement and county industrial hemp stakeholders.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office requested a regulation that would allow its officers to accompany county staff when doing inspections on the hemp product for THC levels.
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