Tuolumne County To Vote On Hemp Cultivation Moratorium

Photo by: BJ Hansen

Sonora, CA — Items on Tuesday’s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors agenda include a temporary ban on commercial hemp cultivation, improvements to Standard Park, and a presentation from the Visitors Bureau.

The meeting gets underway at 9am in the supervisors meeting room in downtown Sonora. One of the early items on the agenda is a presentation from the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau in relation to its annual budget and marketing plan.

Later in the meeting there will be a vote to award a $148,000 contract to Tri County Construction to remodel and update the Standard Park Concession Stand. It is a grant funded project through the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Standard Park sees an estimated 100,000 visitors come through the gates each year. The project will make the food service counter tops, along with the food prep work area, ADA compliant. The project will also improve electrical aspects of the building, bring plumbing aspects up to code, allow for the bathroom wash area to have warm water, and include the installation of food service curtains.

Toward the end of the meeting, at 1:30pm, the supervisors will hold a public hearing on a proposed moratorium on the cultivation of commercial and research hemp. The Calaveras County Supervisors passed a similar temporary ban last month. The issue came up after the 2018 US Farm Bill legalized the commercial production of hemp, as previously it was outlawed and lumped in with cannabis cultivation.  A moratorium would give the supervisors more time to study and review the issue.