While Humboldt County’s cannabis industry faces mounting challenges, one Petrolia-area cannabis farm is moving forward with significant growth. Empress Farms, LLC recently received unanimous approval from the county Planning Commission to dramatically expand its cultivation operations, a rare bright spot in a tough market.
Approved at the Sept. 4 Planning Commission meeting, the permits will allow the cannabis farm to expand its outdoor cultivation area from the previously approved 10,000 square feet to an impressive 80,000 square feet. Located on Mattole Road, this project also includes a commercial nursery and non-volatile cannabis manufacturing, solidifying Empress Farms as one of the region’s leading operations.
A notable part of this expansion is that about half of the new cultivation area will be developed under the county’s Retirement, Remediation and Relocation program. This initiative allows a cannabis farm to increase its cultivation footprint in exchange for moving operations away from environmentally sensitive areas, a strategy that both benefits the environment and supports business growth.
Large-scale cannabis farm projects often draw opposition from nearby residents. However, Senior Planner Clif Johnson noted that meetings with local property owners helped shape permit conditions and addressed concerns about water usage. The cannabis farm’s irrigation will primarily come from a rainwater catchment pond. A permit condition also requires Empress Farms to either expand its water storage or provide records proving a limited irrigation rate of 4.6 gallons of water per square foot of cultivation area.
In addition, the cannabis farm will use a well and a spring for non-cultivation purposes. Another condition requires water metering by 2026, although this was originally tied to the start of manufacturing, which is expected later. Water use from the well and spring will be limited to 180,000 gallons annually.
County Planner Andrew Whitney explained that the cultivation area allowance for this cannabis farm is based on sustainable water availability. “Essentially, we limited their cultivation area based on the reasonable amount of water they could gather in a drought year,” Whitney said.
Currently, there are six buildings being used for cannabis operations at the cannabis farm, and six new structures will be added to support employee needs, waste storage, office space, manufacturing, and packaging. Power will be supplied by Pacific Gas & Electric, ensuring reliable energy for the growing operation.
The unanimous approval signals that, even as Humboldt’s broader cannabis sector contracts, innovative and environmentally responsible cannabis farm projects like Empress Farms can still thrive.