# Grow house???



## Sifu (Jan 24, 2014)

We are faced with a new issue here, not sure exactly where to place it so I chose here.  Need to be proactive because we know its coming.....the smell from our new legal grow houses.  These would probably primarily be in residential areas where a grower will be exhausting right at his neighbor.  I am not real familiar with the odor but I am told it is rather strong when you are growing the stuff.  Does anybody have any experience with mitigating this issue.  Our leaders have asked that we come up with some ideas, basically a standard needs to be written/adopted so we can (maybe) keep the complaints manageable.

I know. it seems pretty strange to be writing this stuff but its a reality and the unintended consequences are going to be popping up.


----------



## Sifu (Jan 24, 2014)

FWIW the first one I looked at had the exhuast directed right back into his own return air.  What I am afraid we will see is a lot of folks using the conveniently located combustion air ducts for the exhaust.


----------



## Darren Emery (Jan 25, 2014)

I hear incense covers the smell pretty well....


----------



## cda (Jan 25, 2014)

So are these businesses in a residential area or private home owner growing their own stuff


----------



## Arcal (Jan 25, 2014)

As far as residential grow houses, we have been involved with them since 2007.  Since that time the Building Division as inspected and disconnected power on 77 grows.  We are in a "progressive" County, where the District Attorney does not prosecute, so the City had to come up with something to try and discourage the growers, because they were causing considerable problems in their neighborhood (smell, home burglaries, murders etc.).  The first thing the City did was write an ordinance to limit the size of the grow.  Then when we got a complaint, the police or drug task force would investigate.  If they found enough evidence, they would raid the house and call us in to determine if there were any health and safety issues.  Considering all of the work (electrical, mechanical, and plumbing) was done without a permit, we would have the electrical service disconnected.  This had some impact on the grows, but the biggest impact came this year when the Council put on the ballot a measure to tax all homes that had excessive electrical usage.  The number was a 600% over the baseline for a normal single family household.  The measure passed and we found the number of housing stock with excessive use fell from 650 to less than 90 in just a few months.  Now the County and another City are looking into use the same measure.

The Times-Standard

POSTED:   01/12/2014 02:41:36 AM PST | UPDATED:   13 DAYS AGO

As we've reported in today's paper, Arcata's now seen its first share of the revenue generated by Measure I, the so-called marijuana grow tax. What remains to be seen is how swiftly the new tax recoups the cost of its implementation, and whether the rest of Humboldt County will follow Arcata's lead in taxing the excess electricity usage that's a telltale sign of indoor marijuana grows.

Arcata's voters in 2012 overwhelmingly approved Measure I, which taxes residents who exceed a baseline of typical household electricity usage set by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Households that don't meet the medical exemptions included in the measure and exceed the baseline by 600 percent are charged an additional 45 percent of the electricity portion of a bill.

Implemented by PG&E in October of last year in exchange for $650,000, the tax has so far returned $50,000 to the city's general fund for the months of October and November.

While city officials say it's too soon to tell if the tax will collect as much revenue as initial estimates by city staff had predicted -- $1 million annually -- one thing's for certain: It's already caused a significant drop in energy usage within city limits.

Prior to the grow tax, 633 of Arcata's 9,500 residential meters exceeded the 600 percent baseline. In the first month of the tax's implementation, only 96 accounts did.

Eureka's City Council and Humboldt County's Board of Supervisors would be wise to continue their exploration of following Arcata's lead, and implementing a similar tax of their own. Arcata's experiment may succeed or fail, but it has a built-in 12-year sunset provision. In the meantime, the need to formulate a countywide response seems self-evident. All those grow houses didn't go up in smoke.


----------



## Sifu (Jan 27, 2014)

In answer to the question as to whether they are residential;  I expect most will be residential.  Certainly I think most of the complaints will come out of the residential side.  I have only inspected one so far and it was a guy who had been busted for having an ellegal grow and was now in the process of reducing his old illegal grow to meet the size limit imposed by our city for a legal grow.  I am sure there will be similar problems as those in the N.Cal area as time passes.  The problem I have been asked to look in to is the odor problem.  I am guessing some sort of HEPA system or charcoal filtration would do it.  It may be somewhat similar to the tax dis-incentive in N.Cal if we impose the use of a filtration system, but that decision is above my pay grade.


----------



## cda (Jan 27, 2014)

Sifu said:
			
		

> In answer to the question as to whether they are residential;  I expect most will be residential.  Certainly I think most of the complaints will come out of the residential side.  I have only inspected one so far and it was a guy who had been busted for having an ellegal grow and was now in the process of reducing his old illegal grow to meet the size limit imposed by our city for a legal grow.  I am sure there will be similar problems as those in the N.Cal area as time passes.  The problem I have been asked to look in to is the odor problem.  I am guessing some sort of HEPA system or charcoal filtration would do it.  It may be somewhat similar to the tax dis-incentive in N.Cal if we impose the use of a filtration system, but that decision is above my pay grade.


So you are going to regulate something that is legal, if growing under a certain amount.

Guess I have to cut my smelly roses and.  "Titan Arum"


----------



## north star (Jan 27, 2014)

*( ~ ~ ~ ~ )*



Sifu,

If your jurisdiction has adopted the IPMC, ...then possibly you

could use [ cite ] *Section 102.8:* *Requirements not covered by code -*

"Requirements necessary for the strength, stability or proper operation of an

 existing fixture, structure or equipment, or for the public safety, health

and general welfare, not specifically covered by this code, shall be

determined by the code official."

Have the BO cite the grow op. odors as a nuisance, and require abatement

within a specified time period.



*( ~ ~ ~ ~ )*


----------



## Sifu (Jan 28, 2014)

I have been asked by my superiors to investigate ways to mitigate the smell.  My assumption is that they are planning on a local ordinance for whatever system they may find to help with that.  I don't think they are relying on the current code, since I don't think many people considered this as an issue when they were written.  As far as regulating something that is legal???  It seems that is done all the time, but again I am only seeking input on ways to help cut the smell.  If I find something they want to use so be it.  I'll leave the politics to the politicians.


----------



## cda (Jan 28, 2014)

Well the bars use some type of ventilation system to remove smoke


----------



## mtlogcabin (Jan 28, 2014)

Don't even try and regulate it. When the complaints come in just tell them there are no regulations to address the problem and send them back to the legislatures who created the problem. To often the states or feds adopt a law that result in all kinds of un-intend or often not thought out consequences that the locals end up addressing. Make the complainers go back to the originators or let it become a civil matter between two private parties.

FYI

When growers dump the liquid fertilizers down the sewer drain at the end of the grow season it will play havoc on the little micro organisms at the sewage treatment plant.


----------



## steveray (Jan 28, 2014)

The state just shot down the guys who applied for a grow license (medicinal) here....I am off the hook for a bit...


----------

