June 10, 2021 — As the Board of Supervisors prepares to adopt an unpopular cannabis cultivation ordinance, two separate groups are planning referenda to repeal or amend the final product. One group is gathering signatures to repeal the whole thing. Another group wants to strike the ten percent provision, and follow up with negotiations for further amendments, or, failing that, a citizens’ initiative. The current version of the ordinance that will come back before the board by the end of the month would allow cultivation on ten percent of ag and rangeland parcels over ten acres.
Initially, Charles Sargenti of Covelo was planning to stay out of it. But then he said it was causing distress at a meeting of the Round Valley Municipal Advisory Council, where he serves as secretary. He teamed up with Jim Shields of Laytonville, editor of The Observer and a longtime supes watcher, to launch a referendum effort.