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Return of the Bennett Valley VOICE
In this first full issue of the VOICE since the October fires, we highlight several articles related to the firestorms. We provide a brief recap of the November 4 community meeting with Bennett Valley Fire Chief Dan George. This issue publishes excerpts of the letter presented to the Bennett Valley Fire District Board of Directors by the Bennett Ridge Community Association and excerpts from a letter by Craig S. Harrison, President of the BVCA Board, sent to State Senator Mark McGuire to request funding for community sirens. Supervisor Susan Gorin provides us with an article on the post-fires reality with focus on loss, our challenges, service to the community, and financial costs. We also have an article regarding commercial marijuana operations in Bennett Valley and much more.
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Cannabis Growing Permits in Bennett Valley
Six limited liability companies (LLCs) have applied for permits to grow cannabis within the Bennett Valley Area Plan. The promoters of the marijuana industry told the Board of Supervisors that most applicants for permits under the Sonoma County Cannabis Land Use Ordinance would be “mom and pop” farmers who have been growing cannabis for years.
In this issue of the VOICE, we find that permit applicants here are investors who mostly lack ties to our community. Each is an LLC, which hides the identities of the investors from neighbors and tax authorities. An LLC or trust owns each parcel, and title changed for five of the properties in 2017. The addresses on public documents indicate the LLCs are based in Chicago, San Mateo, Tiburon, and San Francisco. Two have some connection to Sonoma County. The addresses of three LLCs are mail drops at UPS stores. We know little about the investors, who want to convert Bennett Valley into marijuana farms for profit, except that most don’t live here.
For details, see the full article in this issue of the VOICE .
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BVFD
Fire Board Meeting
January 9, 7:00 PM
The Bennett Valley Fire District Board of Directors will meet on Tuesday evening January 9 at 7:00PM. Board meetings are open to the public and Bennett Valley residents are encouraged to attend. Please note the following Board agenda item:
New Business -- BOARD WILL SET A DATE FOR A SPECIAL MEETING TO DISCUSS THE FIRE: The Special Meeting will be a Saturday Workshop to discuss community concerns regarding the fire that have been voiced via correspondence and in public forums.
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Note from the Editor
The October fires affected several members of the VOICE staff. Therefore, we are not able to provide the printed version for this issue. We plan to return to our regular publication of both the printed version and the digital version of the VOICE in March.
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