Carson City supervisors allow hemp cultivation indoors, block outdoor agricultural cultivation amid lawsuit
The Carson City Board of Supervisors voted to create a new ordinance relating to hemp cultivation within city limits on Thursday, allowing for indoor cultivation within certain zoning districts, effectively blocking outdoor agricultural cultivation.
Carson City has been involved in a $15 million lawsuit since 2019 after they denied a hemp cultivation project in the Buzzy Ranch area, despite an agreement between the city and the Jarrard Family Trust that allows the Jarrards to use a portion of the space for agricultural and ranching uses.
The Jarrards sold the property to Carson City in 2010 to be used as an Open Space property due its large presence of wetlands and wildlife. However, the Jarrards required, as part of the sale, that they be allowed to use a portion of the property for agricultural uses.
The Jarrard Trust leased the property to Tahoe Hemp on June 6, 2019 to cultivate hemp, a non-psychoactive relative of cannabis.
Carson City blocked the lease, claiming that the cultivation of hemp was not specifically listed as authorized uses of the property, and was sued for $15 million in January of 2020 in response.
On April 17, the Carson City District Court rejected a motion made by the city to dismiss the case based on an argument that there is not a valid lease with the trust and therefore lacks standing to use the property. They also argued that growing hemp does not fall under agricultural uses because at the time of the agreement, hemp was not a legal agricultural product.
The courts found that there is a valid contract and lease between the Jarrard Trust and Tahoe Hemp, and that there was no stipulation of what is and is not an agricultural product at the time of the sale.
In May 2020, a moratorium on hemp growing in Carson City was passed, which temporarily halted any applications for hemp projects for six months.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Carson City Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance on first reading to allow Hemp Cultivation Facilities within city limits, so long as they keep operations inside with odor controls in place.
The ordinance also allows the presence of Hemp Cultivation Facilities within Limited Industrial (LI) Districts, Agricultural (A) Districts, and Conservation Reserves (CR).
LI Districts also includes Bottling Plants/Brewery Facilities, Grinding and Sharpening of Tools, and Assembly, Fabricating and Manufacturing of Products and Materials.
A Districts include uses such as agricultural use, cattle raising, crop production, and more.
CR Districts include uses such as agricultural use, fire protection facility, flood control facility, parks, residential, and more.
Mayor Elect and Supervisor Lori Bagwell asked that the District Attorney’s Office add a conforming opportunity to include provisions that there are no vested property rights, and that the issued business license is a revokable privilege.
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