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Time to hold SLO County Supervisors accountable

March 20, 2019

OPINION by JUNE MCPHEE

The residents of York Mountain in Templeton discovered this ill-conceived cannabis project at the 11th hour. When we objected, we were scolded by the County for not speaking up when the regulations were being formed!

Shouldn’t we be able to rely on our elected officials to protect the constituents’ best interests over the marijuana businesses? We had five days to try to protect ourselves, while they’ve been secretly working for two years.

Now we’re battling Goliath, trying to prove this project doesn’t belong here.

Then the Supervisors accuse us of lying and doctoring pictures, but ignore the lies the wannabe pot farmers have told, the shortcuts they’ve taken, and the fact that the County illegally exempted them from environmental review.

This huge operation, with 21,000 plus square feet of greenhouses and buildings and 3 acres of outdoor cultivation, highly visible from Highway 46, will hurt the resources and character of our peaceful community and will attract a criminal element. Vineyards and tomato farms don’t get robbed. Pot farms do. An Oakland security guard was recently shot by people robbing a marijuana business.

The County staff and some of our elected officials appear to have no qualms about bringing that kind of enterprise to our area. They should be ashamed of themselves and the laughably low bar they’re setting by even considering this project in its present form and location.


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In the only county where you are rewarded and even PROMOTED for misbehavior. I would say it’s laughable but not funny at all. They are dug in a way to deep in the state to ever become ACCOUNTABLE. Just look at those they supervise (jail personnel etc……) You know those that lose their positions at the county jail because they are killing people but then get promoted to supervisor positions at INpatient county mental health.


1

I didn’t see a tasting room or rather a 420 sampling room being approved as part of this project. So there won’t be anyone sampling products at this facility and then sent driving on their merry way like everyone of the wineries do in the county. Drunk driving is criminal activity, and dangerous to the community- is it not?


York Mountain, was one of the first areas to begin changing the character of our community—by establishing wineries in north county. Paso used to grow Almonds and Walnuts. Can we go back to that?


Winery development plans aren’t well advertised either. Seems like they are sprung on us in a similar fashion that you complain about here. One day Oak covered hills, the next day grapes!


Do you like the smell of the rotting grape by product from wine processing? I don’t.

With Cannabis I won’t know if I am passing a grow operation or just run over a dead skunk. I doubt you could tell the difference either.


It is legal now in the state, so get used to it. Fast forward 15 years and everyone of your neighboring wineries will have incorporated cannabis into their overall business plan.


Chronic Cellars comes to mind.


-11

We won’t be able to fast forward 15 years because in 12 years the world will end due to climate change. So I guess we should just worry about the now.


8

of course none of this is going to benefit the average citizen. Will taxes go down? Will services be cheaper? Will roads be repaired? Will schools get programs back? Will teachers get raises (not just police)? No, it will simply line the pockets of politicians and lobbyists to screw us even further. There’s a reason the pot industry has the aesthetic of a spring break frat party crossed with a used car lot.


21

Interesting. The York Mountain I know was run by Max Goldman for years until his passing, then purchased by David Weyrich, who went tits up…. and deservedly so. So this pot thing at a historic winery is unfortunate. But for “Noodly” and “Think” to blame supervisor Compton is idiotic. Lynn has been very careful and skeptical in her approach to the pot moving target… so I imagine these two dudes have another ax to grind. Go complain to pot sweeties Gibson, Hill and Harmon, who I suspect your ideologies really align with.


11

You are wrong on all counts concerning me. Thanks for the vote of confidence with you ‘idiot’ comment. The moderator of this site is quick to remove comments they disagree with, but you calling people idiots with zero knowledge of us get a pass.


0

“disagree with” No, trolling with off topic political slogans etc yes.


If you are offended by someones comment, point it out.


Moderation is not math, we are imperfect humans just like the commenters, also it is Moderators.


3

Compton was clear at the meeting, she stands with Adam Hill and Bruce Gibson on the side of putting large marijuana growers’ wants above neighbors. Compton called Ian McPhee and a Templeton board members liars saying you can’t see the proposed pot farm from the highway, because Jamie Jones said you can not. Its a black and white issue, you can see the area from the highway. Both Debbie Arnold and John Peschong are taking a sensible and intelligent stance, approving some while voting against farms that harm the neighbors ability to enjoy their property. Compton says she supports neighbors, but her actions say otherwise. Watch how she votes and you will probably change your mind about her.


2

Another case of…. If it walks like duck, talks like a duck, er, um, “cannabis project”…

While it may not put any more stress on the local resources than acres of vineyards, for anyone to demean someone for being concerned over what the pot grow (sorry, cannabis project) might attract to their area is the real voice of ignorance and denial. It’s just the nature of the beast. Everyone knows it, some will try to defend it, but it is what it is.


9

The BOS is very very accountable, that is to their pocket books. Like any crime all you have to do is follow the money. All of these government agencies can only talk about all of the money that they are going to receive from the marijuana industry. No one yet has been able to tell us what the costs will be to manage this Golden Weed? But of course government is never concerned of what the net result of this will be. In SLO they wanted to have a big community meeting to see where they could spend all of this money. My take on this is that the taxpayers are the investors in this thing called government and if there is a profit, marijuana money, why not make a financial return to the investors and say lower the taxes. Ha Ha that will never happen because approximately 75% of all funds that go into the General Fund come out as pay raises, benefits, early retirements and pay offs for those that should be fired. But there is one way to fix it and it’s called election day.


19

Well put…. (We have to pass the law to see what’s inside…)


8

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, case closed.


22

“Vineyards and tomato farms don’t get robbed. Pot farms do. An Oakland security guard was recently shot by people robbing a marijuana business.”


Demonstrates your complete lack of logic (comparing a farm to a business in OAKLAND), shows the true motivation behind your concern (paranoia and ignorance), and destroys your whole argument. You should have just left it at your concern that the residents weren’t properly included in the process.


-20

http://www.cwbchicago.com/2018/07/uptown-gun-menace-dies-hijacking-van.html

This happened to my friend growing in Calaveras County. Recently.


6

https://www.recordnet.com/news/20181011/feds-take-over-violent-calaveras-drug-torture-case

It’s just about torture and robbery of a marijuana grow. Probably not going to ever happen again.


2

Its happening everywhere especially over weed. In the big cities in Cali criminals just show up in large groups and rob stores in broad daylight and no gun ….But the weed robbers they will bring firepower 35 years ago there was killings on hwy 58 Santa margarita over thieves at a mariuana grow this is nothing new except happening on a daily bases in the state of California and everywhere else


6

YOU are the one with a complete lack of logic. The mounting evidence of crime, mental illness, animal and forest destruction associated with these farms is unavoidable, and the data is only beginning to surface. You sound like the typical pot head who can’t see because there is too much smoke in your eyes, and your brain is on the way out. This is common because all drug addicts (yes, it’s a drug) “defend their supply.” You’re probably better suited to live in Oakland or Mendocino county.


12

ThinkAwhile Why are you ad hominem attacking someone?


You need to read “Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person.” It is on every page above the comments.


Please comment on the article issue at hand, not about each other.


-5

Last year a homeowner on jardine was robbed at gun point 2 guys from Virginia homeowner got shot so did one of the home invaders. ..In Atascadero last year 7 armed guys from los Angeles and bay area robbed a home on San gregario of 234k in cash and 600 pounds of processed weed .The home invasions have been happening everywhere in california and slo county and the USA over drugs especially weed


8

And convenience stores/gas stations are robbed on a daily basis in California… some times they actually kill the clerk, other times they just install skimmers on the pump to rob every patron of the business.. So that obviously means we should shut down any business that could possibly be robbed, especially the types of businesses that are targeted on a daily basis, right? How many criminals are attracted to Walmart because of their lax policy on shoplifters? Should we shut them down because their policies actually entice criminals to their stores? 3 billion dollars worth of stolen goods a year, just from Walmart.


-4

The drug robberies I was referencing are at peoples homes in residential settings not in a downtown business setting. Attracting businesses that belong in a commercial setting not residential …. What happens when the drug robbers invade neighbors house by accident


2

I would LOVE to see Compton recalled. She has sold her rural constituency out entirely, either to developers or now weed growers. I’m one of the people from Huasna having to deal with weed growers on my own. The County, and particularly Compton, are useless. The last time I saw her in person, the look of shame on her face was unmistakable. She drank the Kool Aid. She had definitely done things that caused her to turn red and awkwardly look away from me. The COMPLETE lack of power she has to get code enforcement to deal with neighbor complaints either indicates that EVERY one of the County employees she is supposed to ‘Supervise’ has their middle finger held high toward her, or that she is a complete liar and never tried to get action on any of our complaints. No one at planning will even listen to Lynn Compton unless she is proposing another development for already-ruined-by-development Nipomo (her attention is nearly total on this part of district 4 full of new-to-town yuppies). Add to that her complete naivete and ignorance of the marijuana business and it’s players and you get the current sh*@show. Hold them ALL accountable for FORCING this activity onto rural land to compete with ranchers for water. It was THEIR bright idea. We told them (when asked for our input) that if the voters want weed, let them share metered County water IN TOWN that is supplied by the tax-hungry bureaucracy. If somebody has to skip a shower because the weed they want used it all, it should be those densely packed consumers, not the people trying to raise your food. Weed grows belong in town with the Police. In Town with the firemen. Not what they decided. York Mountain and Huasna Valley combined have as many voters as one street in Town. Our district 4 supervisor could barely win her last election. I guarantee you it’s the last election she’ll win, because she dangled safety from the weed grows to us and even got some of us to campaign for her and donate. That was right before she started sending some mystery liquid down our back while telling us it was raining.

Good luck with YOUR sellout supervisor York Mountain.


5

Well said! Compton admits at the meeting that these farms smell and that she doesn’t believe the methods used to control this problem work (as she has witnessed this in her own Nipomo). Yet she sits there so pompous and is willing to do this to our neighborhood?! This, in addition to all the other negative impacts it will bring such as crime, pesticides, continuous “harvesting” (which brings continuous traffic, noise, fire risk, crime, etc., etc.) I will do whatever I can to make sure she is NEVER re-elected!


5

Well penned…


2