Cannabis Program Update & Environmental Impact Report
Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) Now Available - May 16, 2025
The County has prepared a Draft EIR pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A Final EIR (Response to Comments) will be prepared following public review and comment. The County will consider this information when deliberating adoption of the Cannabis Program Update. Following certification of the Final EIR and adoption of the Cannabis Program Update, subsequent proposed cannabis projects may rely on the EIR for CEQA compliance and/or tiering.
Link to Draft Environmental Impact Report and Appendices (SoCoCloud link)
Link to Draft Environmental Impact Report and Appendices (State Clearinghouse website)
Draft Public Comment Review Period:
All comments on the DEIR must be received by Sonoma County, Permit Sonoma by 5:00 pm on July 15, 2025, in order to be considered. Comments may be sent by postal service, electronic mail, or hand delivery. Pursuant to Section 15088(a) of the CEQA Guidelines, late comments will be considered only at the County’s discretion. Comments must be directed to:
- Email: cannabis@sonoma-county.org
- Mail or hand delivery:
- Crystal Acker - Permit Sonoma, 2550 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Public Hearing on Draft EIR
A public hearing before the Planning Commission will be held on Thursday, June 19, 2025, at 1:05 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room 102-A, Sonoma County Administration Building, 575 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, to accept oral comments on the Draft EIR. Comments received will be transcribed from the meeting recording for inclusion in the Final EIR; however, transcriptions are not verbatim. Those who wish to have their verbatim comments incorporated in the Final EIR must submit their comments in writing. The Planning Commission will not respond to any of the comments or take action on the project at this hearing. Certification of the Final EIR will be considered at a later hearing, which will be noticed in advance.
Board of Supervisors Informational Workshop - April 15, 2025
The Board of Supervisors received an update on the Cannabis Program and Environmental Impact Report Project. Read the item materials here.
Link to interactive Cannabis Ordinance Update GIS map
Updated Draft Documents Now Available - July 2024
Permit Sonoma has released a final draft Cannabis Land Use Ordinance, General Plan Amendment, and other documents. Revisions were made to certain documents published on April 2, 2024 in response to public input received during the public comment period. Comments may continue to be submitted at any time throughout this process, both before and after publication of the Draft EIR.
A Frequently Asked Questions document has been created, which aims to address questions received in response to the last publication.
Frequently Asked Questions (PDF: 443 KB)
Draft Cannabis Land Use Ordinance Public Comment and Documents - April 2024
On April 2, 2024, Permit Sonoma released a draft Cannabis Land Use Ordinance, Draft General Plan Amendment and other documents. A public comment period was open through May 3, 2024.
Link to public comment received during the comment period (SoCo Cloud link)
Link to interactive Cannabis Ordinance Update GIS map
Notice of Preparation and Public Scoping Meeting for the Cannabis EIR - February 6, 2023
The County prepared and released a Notice of Preparation (NOP) on February 6, 2023, held a virtual public scoping meeting on March 8, 2023, and provided a public comment period through March 23, 2023 to allow an opportunity for agency staff and interested members of the public to submit written and verbal comments on the scope of the environmental issues to be addressed in the EIR. The NOP provides a brief summary of the Update, the County’s preliminary identification of the potential environmental issues to be analyzed in the EIR, and information on how to provide comments. The scoping meeting included a presentation on elements of the Cannabis Program Update, a summary of the NOP, and the broader CEQA process to come.
Read the Notice of Preparation (PDF: 953 KB)
Link to Scoping Meeting PowerPoint Presentation (English and Spanish)
Scoping Meeting Zoom Recording
Ascent Environmental, Inc. selected as consultant for Cannabis Program Update EIR and Economic Analysis - October 2022
Permit Sonoma released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on May 20, 2022, to solicit proposals to prepare a Programmatic EIR and an Economic Analysis in support of the Comprehensive Cannabis Program Update. Two firms responded with proposals for the requested scope of work: Ascent Environmental, Inc. and Rincon Consultants, Inc.
County staff evaluated and scored both proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria outlined in the RFP. The review panel consisted of four staff members from the Planning Division of Permit Sonoma and one staff member from the County Administrator’s Office. Ascent was unanimously scored as the preferred bidder because of the proposal’s strong emphasis on environmental review streamlining of future cannabis applications and demonstrated experience conducting similar environmental reviews for other California county cannabis land use ordinances.
The Board of Supervisors approved the selection on October 4, 2022.
Item Materials on Board of Supervisors Agenda website
Read the Request for Proposals
Cannabis Program Update & EIR Public Comment
Public comment received regarding the Cannabis Program Update & EIR will be published on a monthly basis.
Comprehensive Cannabis Program Update Study Session - September 28, 2021
On June 8, 2021, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to complete a comprehensive update of the cannabis program, based on community input and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). As a first step in this three-year process, staff relaunched public outreach and engagement by holding eight virtual visioning sessions, twelve small group outreach sessions, and conducting a county-wide survey.
This study session provided an opportunity for staff to update the Board on the results of the outreach, and receive direction regarding overall program goals and policy options. This workshop also served as a forum for additional public input on the goals of the project.
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