Lake County planners approve Eastside Farms cannabis expansion with mitigation; commissioners voice water, generator and bridge concerns

The Lake County Planning Commission on July 9 voted to adopt a mitigated negative declaration and grant a major use permit amendment for Eastside Farms (applicant Ross Cunningham), allowing additional outdoor cannabis cultivation and limited on‑site processing and related structures in the Middletown planning area.

Assistant planner Pablo Guerrero summarized the application: the request adds a third garden with a fenced cultivation area of roughly 50,000 square feet and 21,600 square feet of canopy. Staff described the total cultivated area across clustered parcels as about 119,146 square feet and the total proposed canopy as 50,560 square feet. Hydrology analysis in the staff packet estimated total water use for the properties at about 1,307,000 gallons per year (cultivation‑only estimate approximately 818,574 gallons), and staff said pump‑test results and a drought management plan indicate on‑site wells can meet proposed demand with the mitigation measures included in the proposed conditions of approval.

Trey Sherrill, project consultant, clarified that the approved footprint in prior permits was for approximately one acre of cultivation and that the new garden would be a 50,000‑square‑foot fenced area with an estimated 21,600 square feet of planted canopy. Commissioners pressed for consistency in the packet’s numbers; staff and the consultant reconciled the differences during the meeting.

Public commenters and commissioners raised multiple concerns. Margo Kambara urged strict fire‑safety and road‑access conditions and queried the adequacy of well testing (she noted pump tests ran shorter than she prefers for long‑term yield assessment). Several commissioners questioned the proposed reliance on solar and battery storage with gasoline generators as backup; staff and counsel noted existing county pathways that permit transitional or temporary generator use for off‑grid operations and that generator backup was analyzed in the initial study as a backup source rather than an emergency primary supply.

Commissioners also discussed access: the project relies on a private deeded easement and a narrow one‑lane bridge on Jerusalem Grade. Staff displayed the easement and noted the beneficiary of the easement is typically responsible for maintenance; counsel explained the commission’s findings on street and pedestrian adequacy must be supported by the evidence presented and that conditions or continuances are available if access concerns remain material to the findings.

After extended questioning, staff recommended the commission find that identified impacts could be mitigated to less‑than‑significant levels through the draft conditions of approval and adopt the initial study/MND. Commissioner (speaker 3) moved to adopt the mitigated negative declaration and later moved to grant the major use permit PL25243 (both motions were seconded). The commission approved the environmental determination and the permit by voice vote.

Conditions of approval include hydrological mitigation, monitoring and reporting, tribal‑cultural resources measures identified through AB 52 consultation with the Middletown Rancheria, and fire‑district requirements including keyed access and mitigation fees. The decision is subject to the normal seven‑calendar‑day appeal period to the Board of Supervisors.