HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. — On April 22, during the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting, 24 cultivation permits were presented for revocation. After a few payments were made, 21 were ultimately revoked.
During the meeting, Humboldt County Planning Department Director John Ford and Associate Planner Collin Slavey made their presentation about the revokes.
"The purpose of these revocations are due to a failure by the operators to pay outstanding balances due to the planning and building department," said Slavey.
According to Ford, the most recent revocations were just one section out of the 57 permits that have been revoked so far due to unpaid Measure S Taxes, unpaid permits, and other fees, which are costing the city over $1 million in total.
"Three sets of permits forward for revocation, the first two sets were related to the fact that they had not paid their measure S taxes and owed the planning and building department for processing fees, so this was the third round, " said Ford
Unpaid permits aren't a new issue for the city; Ford stated that some of these unpaid bills date back to 2017, which isn't surprising given the decline in the cannabis industry over the years.
"There was an expectation that there would be a good price for cannabis at the time, I think pounds were selling for $4,000 or $5,000 right now, a pound of cannabis is selling at the legal market for around $300," said Ford
Ford said that, due to the long-standing unpaid debts, there isn't much they can do for cannabis cultivators beyond offering them payment plans.
"This is a business's decision, and we've got to be fair here, and people have to pay their bills, "said Ford
These 57 permits are just the tip of the iceberg. The planning and building department plans to take further actions against other growers who haven't paid their taxes or permit fees.