NEW COUNTY MARIJUANA PROPOSAL IS MORE LENIENT

OROVILLE - When the Butte County supervisors meet in May to review a
proposed medical marijuana cultivation ordinance, it will be a
decidedly different document than the one they saw in February.

The original proposal included a $44 per plant "zip tie fee" that has
been removed from the new version.

The old proposal also allowed no more than two mature marijuana
plants on a parcel smaller than one acre, while the new incarnation
allows for six mature plants on a lot of 1.5-acres or smaller.

Also in the first incarnation of the ordinance, plots larger than one
acre were charged an annual registration fee that began at $832 and
rose to $1,231 depending on the acreage involved. In the new proposal
the annual registration fee is $285 for anything larger than
1.5-acres. There is no registration fee, regardless of acreage, if
six or fewer mature plants are grown on the property.

There are still limits on the total number of plants per grow,
starting with the six for the smallest lots, and climbing to 99
plants for parcels of 160 acres or more.

The supervisors' special meeting on the subject will be at 5:30 p.m.
May 4 at the Chico Elks Lodge, 1705 Manzanita Ave. To see the entire
ordinance go to
www.buttecounty.net/~/media/County%20Files/AdminOffice/Public%20Internet/News/Ch%2034A%20Marijuana%20Cultivation%20Ordinance.ashx.
on the web.