Northcoast Environmental Center v. County of Humboldt CA1/1

I. BACKGROUND

Rolling Meadow proposes to develop a cannabis cultivation and processing operation on 8.5 acres of its 7,110-acre ranch. The ranch— historically used for ranching and timber operations—is located on the Eel River and is comprised of agricultural and timber land. The project will include 16 greenhouses—divided among four separate areas—and five processing buildings. The project will be attended by a maximum of 30 employees each day. Rolling Meadow first applied for conditional use permits in 2016. The first initial study was prepared in 2017 and, following multiple rounds of feedback from the County and project revisions by Rolling Meadow, the County circulated for public review and comment a July 2020 initial study and draft mitigated negative declaration. Rolling Meadow thereafter revised the project based on comments received. Rolling Meadow submitted a revised

2 Further references to County Code are to the Humboldt County Code.

2 initial study and mitigated negative declaration (MND) in November 2020.3 The County provided notice of its intent to adopt the MND and circulated it for a 30-day public review and comment period. After the review period closed, the…