As used in this ordinance the following definitions shall apply:
A. General. Unless otherwise defined in this chapter, the County adopts the State definitions of various terms related to cannabis and cannabis activities as used in this chapter. Other applicable definitions shall be as provided in State law and other sections of County Code, as amended. Future changes to applicable definitions in State law shall take effect locally ninety (90) days after the change takes effect at the State level.
B. "Abatement costs" means and includes all costs, expenses, fines, and fees, such as administrative expenses, administrative fines, civil fines, penalties, staff time, variable costs, fixed costs, inspection costs, investigation costs, enforcement costs, abatement costs, litigation fees, litigation costs, hearing costs, attorneys' fees and costs, and all other costs and expenses related to, arising out of, or incurred by the County relating to any nuisance enforcement or abatement action to the fullest extent permitted by law.
C. “Applicant” means a person or entity applying for a license pursuant to this chapter.
D. “Cannabis” means all parts of the plant cannabis sativa Linnaeus, cannabis indica, or cannabis ruderalis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin. “Cannabis” also means the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from cannabis. “Cannabis” does not include the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination. For the purpose of this chapter, “cannabis” does not mean “industrial hemp” as defined by Section 11018.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
E. “Cannabis good or cannabis goods” means cannabis, including dried flower, and products containing cannabis, as defined in Section 15000 of Title 4, Div 19 of the California Code of Regulations.
F. “Cannabis concentrate” means cannabis that has undergone a process to concentrate one or more active cannabinoids, thereby increasing the product’s potency. For purposes of this division, “cannabis concentrate” includes, but is not limited to, the separated resinous trichomes of cannabis, tinctures, capsules, suppositories, extracts, vape cartridges, inhaled products (e.g., dab, shatter, and wax), and tablets, as defined in subsection (RR).
G. “Cannabis operation” means any activity that requires a license issued by Yolo County pursuant to this chapter and the State of California pursuant to the MAUCRSA.
H. “Cannabis use permit’ means a conditional use permit issued pursuant to the Cannabis Land Use Ordinance.
I. “Canopy” means the aggregate area(s) of mature plants at a licensed premises, except nurseries and processors, that contain mature plants at any given time as follows:
1. Canopy shall be calculated in square feet, as measured by the outermost perimeter of each separate and discrete area(s) of cannabis cultivation at the drip line of the canopy expected at full maturity.
2. Canopy shall not exceed the allowed maximum pursuant to the CLUO and/or any use permit and license issued for the site.
J. “Discrete area(s) of cultivation” means designated cultivation area(s) identified on a premise map for a licensed premises, which may be noncontiguous and may contain cannabis cultivation at any point in time that includes but is not limited to, interior walls, shelves, greenhouse walls, hoop house walls, garden benches, garden tables, hedgerows, fencing, garden beds or garden plots.
1. Each discrete area(s) of cultivation shall be identified by a physical boundary that includes but is not limited to, interior walls, shelves, greenhouse walls, hoop houses walls, garden benches, shelf or table surface area, hedgerow, fencing, garden beds, garden plots or stakes delineating the perimeter; and
2. If mature plants are being cultivated using a shelving system, the surface area of each level shall be included in the total canopy calculation.
K. “Commercial cannabis activity” includes the cultivation, possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery, or sale of cannabis or cannabis products as provided for in this chapter.
L. “Courtesy notice” means an inspection report or letter of non-compliance that notes the observation of non-compliance and a deadline to correct the non-compliance.
M. “Cultivation” means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, storing, trimming of cannabis.
N. “Cultivation site” means a location where commercial cannabis is legally planted, grown, harvested, dried, cured, graded, trimmed, or stored, or a location where any combinations of those activities occur.
O. “Distribution” means the procurement, sale, and transport of cannabis and cannabis products between licensees.
P. “Dried flower” means all dead cannabis that has been harvested, dried, cured, or otherwise processed, excluding leaves and stems.
Q. “Enforcing officer” shall mean any County officer or employee, including his/her designee, with the authority to enforce this Code, its adopted codes or applicable State codes.
R. “Entity” means any firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, limited liability company, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other group, entity or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular.
S. “Extraction” means a process by which cannabinoids are separated from cannabis plant material through chemical or physical means.
T. “Final form” refers to cannabis and cannabis products that are packaged and labeled as they will be sold at retail to a consumer.
U. “Flowering” means that a cannabis plant has formed a mass of pistils measuring greater than one half inch wide at its widest point.
V. “Greenhouse” means a structure or thermally isolated area of a building that maintains a specialized sunlit environment used for and essential to the cultivation, protection, or maintenance of plants. For the purposes of this chapter, cultivation in a greenhouse (including mixed light) is considered an indoor use.
W. “Hoop house” means a shade cloth structure that is readily removable and temporary in nature, without any equipment or utilities. The ends may be covered or left open and the material covering the structural members is readily removable and is typically removed and re-affixed frequently. For the purposes of this chapter, cultivation in a hoop house is considered an outdoor use.
X. “Immature plant” or “immature” means a cannabis plant that has a first true leaf measuring greater than one half inch long from base to tip (if started from seed) or a mass of roots measuring greater than one half inch wide at its widest point (if vegetatively propagated), but which is not flowering.
Y. “Immature plant area” also known as the “vegging area” is the area designated by the licensee to keep immature plants in order to promote vegetative growth prior to flowering and shall be separate and distinct from the canopy area and on-site nursery. All immature plants housed in the immature plant area shall be no more than twenty- four (24) inches in height and not flowering at any time they are located in the immature plant area. If immature plants begin to flower while in the immature plant area, they shall be immediately removed from the immature plant area and placed in the canopy area.
Z. “Infusion” means a process by which cannabis, cannabinoids, or cannabis concentrates are directly incorporated into a product formulation to produce a cannabis product.
AA. “Ingredient” means any substance that is used in the manufacture of a cannabis product and that is intended to be present in the finished cannabis product.
BB. “Kief” means the resinous trichomes of cannabis that have been separated from the cannabis plant.
CC. “Labeling” means any label or other written, printed, or graphic matter upon cannabis or a cannabis product, upon its container or wrapper, or that accompanies any cannabis or cannabis product.
DD. "License" means a license issued by the County of Yolo pursuant to this chapter to engage in a cannabis operation(s) in the unincorporated areas of Yolo County.
EE. “Licensee” means any person or business entity holding a license under this chapter to engage in cannabis operations.
FF. “Manufacture” means to compound, blend, extract, infuse, or otherwise make or prepare a cannabis product.
(1) The term “manufacture” includes the following processes:
(A) Extraction;
(B) Infusion;
(C) Packaging or repackaging of cannabis products;
(D) Labeling or relabeling the packages of cannabis products;
(E) Post-processing refinement of cannabis extract (“post-processing”); and
(F) Remediation of failed harvest batches or cannabis product batches, other than relabeling to correct cannabinoid content.
GG. “Manufacturing” or “manufacturing operation” means all aspects of the extraction process, infusion process, post-processing, remediation, and packaging and labeling processes, including processing, preparing, holding, and storing of cannabis products. Manufacturing also includes any processing, preparing, holding, or storing of components and ingredients.
HH. “Mature plant” or “mature” means a cannabis plant that is flowering.
II. “Microbusiness” means a licensee that is authorized to engage in cannabis operations defined in subdivision (aj) of Section 26001 of the Business and Professions Code.
JJ. “Mother plant” means a cannabis plant that is grown or maintained for the purpose of generating clones, and that will not be used to produce plant material for sale to a processor or dispensary.
KK. “Non-manufactured cannabis good” means final form items that contain only cannabis.
LL. “Nursery” means a facility or area on a cultivation site that produces only clones, Immature plants, seeds and other agricultural products used specifically for the propagation and cultivation of cannabis.
MM. “Owner” means any of the following:
1. Any person with an aggregate ownership interest of twenty percent (20%) or more in the person applying for a license, or the licensee, unless the interest is solely a security, lien, or encumbrance;
2. The chief executive officer of an entity;
3. A member of the board of directors of a corporation; and/or
4. An individual who will be participating in the direction, control, or management of the cannabis operation.
NN. “Person” means an individual.
OO. "Premises" means the designated structure or structures and land specified in the license application that is owned, leased, or otherwise held under the control of the applicant or licensee where the commercial cannabis activity will be or is conducted. The premises shall be a contiguous area and shall only be occupied by one licensee.
PP. “Processing” means the trimming, drying, curing, grading, storing, packaging, and labeling of non-manufactured cannabis.
QQ. “Retail area” means a building, room, or other area that is open to the public, upon the licensed retailer or licensed microbusiness premises authorized to engage in retail sales in which cannabis goods are sold or displayed.
RR. “State license” means a license issued by the State under MAUCRSA, or subsequent legislation.
SS. “Tablet” means a solid preparation containing a single serving of THC or other cannabinoid that is intended to be swallowed whole, not formulated to be chewable, dispersible, effervescent, orally disintegrating, used as a suspension, or consumed in a manner other than swallowed whole, and does not contain any added natural or artificial flavor or sweetener.
TT. “Transport” means the physical movement of cannabis or cannabis products from one licensed premises to another licensed premises. (§ 2, Ord. 1557, eff. January 21, 2023)