I am no friend of marijuana but I am having problems with your ordinance. You are putting laws in place that are catching a lot of people that shouldn't be caught; the working man and the innocent man is being caught."

Today's public hearing on an appeal of a Code Enforcement Officer's determination to the Notice and Order to abate Unlawful Marijuana Cultivation on a Shelter Cove property turned into a debate on constitutional rights, selective prosecution and opinions about the small parcel ordinance on medical marijuana passed by the Humboldt Community Board of Supervisors.

Property Owner Roger Lechner's appeal was denied by an unanimous vote, however he gained two unlikely allies today.

He has 14 days from today's decision to deal with his plants or to have his legal counsel Ed Denson take any action. The Board and staff were told in court this afternoon that Lechner had retained counsel.

The presentation and responses by County Counsel and Supervisors do shed light on the decision made by the Supervisors, their roles and the quagmire that medical cannabis regulations and laws have created that need to be worked out.

During public comment, frequent commenter at the Board of Supervisors Charles Ciancio, said "I am no friend of marijuana but I am having problems with your ordinance. You are putting laws in place that are catching a lot of people that shouldn't be caught; the working man and the innocent man is being caught."

Another regular commenter and public watchdog Kent Sawatsky said, "I have certain reservations whether this is selective prosecution. Why isn't this ordinance all over Humboldt County? There are all sorts of motives (for someone to complain against the property owner) like him growing male plants. Not that I support what he does but all should be treated equally. People are afraid to complain out of fear of retribution. Your small parcel ordinance is non-functional."

Board Chair and Supervisor Estelle Fennell responded that Shelter Cove has a Q zone which requires a permit and there are a lot of restrictions that do not exist anywhere else. "It is an one of kind resort improvement district." She also said there was a lot of input on the small parcel ordinance before it was passed and no one was being singled out.

CAO Phillip Smith-Hanes said that this hearing was to determine if there had been a code violation. And some of the comments made by Lechner were raising constitutional issues which should be raised by his attorney filing "a writ in Superior Court." He was clarifying the role of the board and what the purpose of the hearing was today.

For the record, Lechner did not deny that he "technically" broke the law, he also admitted he wanted time until harvest in October  and claimed that the complaint was made by a neighbor who was upset with him about an interaction Lechner had with one of his kids."

Before you tar and feather the Board of Supervisors, you should read the rest of the post.

At the beginning of the hearing, Deputy County Counsel Jason Sheets presented the staff report. He asked the Board of Supervisors to uphold the code enforcement determination that the property in question was a nuisance and i"marijuana was being cultivated in violation" and cited the appropriate codes.

The officer Jeff Conner said Code Enforcement Unit received a complaint from the Planning Division and then he investigated the property in question in Shelter Cove and spoke with the property owner who admitted to growing the plants on the property. The Board was shown photos taken with Google Earth.

Lechner spoke next and he refuted the officer's testimony that he admitted to having 50 male and 50 female plants. "I said I had less than 100 plants."

Then he started explaining how he ended up in Shelter Cover. Lechner said he is from West Virginia and he made it clear to people in Shelter Cover, "I was not squatting." Lechner said he was tired of being raided in West Virginia where raids occurred every four years and that he researched and investigated moving to the West Coast, specifically Humboldt due to laws that were passed. He initially wanted to live in Humboldt and have a dispensary in Mendocino. "I don;t want to run a dispensary, I don;t want to be a part of the marijuana culture; I understand why people are tired of squatters."

"People who have a house can do whatever they want, people who don't cannot."

At one point, Supervisor Rex Bohn asked Lechner to tell the Board information regarding his appeal, and not how he got to Humboldt. Same effort was made by other Supervisors.

Supervisor Fennell in response to Lechner's comments, said, "A law was proposed and you were aware you had to have a permit." She said the Q zone is for property to build a house and not cultivate marijuana. "

Lechner admitted that he technically violated the law and that he does not live on the property.