Planning commission approves Greenfield Farm outdoor cannabis permit with mitigations

The Lake County Planning Commission on March 26 approved a major use permit for Greenfield Farm (PL-25-306), allowing the applicant to operate approximately 86,380 square feet of outdoor commercial cannabis canopy and a limited self-distribution license at 20150 Black Bass Pass Road in Lower Lake.

Senior planner Mary Claybon told commissioners the project as proposed would be located on a roughly 40.56-acre parcel and staged in two gardens (about 66,530 sq ft and 19,850 sq ft). Stage 2 would add a small processing facility and required infrastructure including an ADA restroom and a fire suppression tank. Claybon said county review — including three biological studies provided by the applicant and a 2019 wetland delineation — found impacts could be mitigated to less than significant and staff recommended adoption of a mitigated negative declaration and approval with conditions.

Why it matters: Commissioners focused their review on water use, spacing and cumulative impacts from nearby cannabis projects. Commissioner-language questions centered on temporary processing in shipping containers (allowed up to three years under County Ordinance 3135 and limited to 10% of the permitted canopy), harvest-hour flexibility for evening harvests, and whether prior “early activation” operations and existing meters provide reliable data on actual water use.

During public comment applicant representatives and a project manager confirmed the site has a water meter (installed in 2021) and explained plant spacing and canopy layout. A licensed civil engineer for the applicant, Kyle Gener of North Bay Civil Consulting, described the cultivation layout and said the hydrological analysis used conservative state per-plant water numbers. Commissioners and the consultant debated the arithmetic: one commissioner’s quick calculation based on assumed 5-foot spacing produced a substantially larger daily water figure than the applicant’s hydrology report; the consultant said the layout and canopy assumptions produce lower per-plant figures and offered to provide additional detail and past meter records.

Staff told the commission the project’s hydrological analysis identifies 86 domestic wells, 17 irrigation wells and several municipal and monitoring wells in the basin and concluded recharge at the site could support the proposed use without interfering with other wells. Staff also confirmed there are four approved cannabis projects within one mile and nine within three miles of the Greenfield site.

The commission first voted to adopt the mitigated negative declaration and initial study dated March 26, 2026, finding project impacts could be reduced to less than significant through the proposed mitigation measures. The commission then voted to approve the major use permit (PL-25-306) subject to the findings and conditions in the staff report. The decision is subject to a seven-calendar-day appeal period to the Board of Supervisors.

What to watch next: Commissioners requested clearer cumulative-impact metrics be included in future staff reports (number and water use of nearby projects), and the applicant agreed to provide more detailed water-use records from the installed meter if requested by staff.