SLT eager to get pot grows into compliance
Special lights are required for marijuana plants to thrive in an indoor grow room. Photo/Steve Kubby
By Kathryn Reed
Plants are thriving even though it’s winter in Lake Tahoe.
That’s what happens when a garage is converted into a grow room.
Buds are sprouting from the 29 marijuana plants.
And this is all legal in South Lake Tahoe.
Ten permitted grows exist in the city. But what worries city officials is the hundreds of people who are illegally growing marijuana indoors. They pose a safety threat to themselves and their neighbors.
“With all the illegal grows I see there are a lot of hazards and it is a little spooky how close people are to burning the house down, or having damage with mold or water,” Dave Walker, South Lake Tahoe building official, told Lake Tahoe News. “I would love to see more people get permitted to make sure everybody is safe.”
Steve Kubby, who helped write Proposition 215 – the Compassionate Care Act, received his permit from the city last month.
“This was an amazingly effortless process for me,” Kubby told Lake Tahoe News. “The building department was so cooperative.”
Despite being legal, Kubby has reservations about having had to go through the process in the first place because the state law doesn’t say people need a municipality’s permission. Still, he said he complied to be a role model for others.
Kubby used Corey Barack, who is a plumber by trade, to ensure his place would meet all of the city’s rules and be as safe as possible. His business, Grow Safe, is a consulting firm for those seeking to grow marijuana legally in the city for medicinal reasons.
“The whole room is sealed,” Barack said as he gave a tour of Kubby’s room that is a walled-in section of the garage.
He hooked up a reservoir, which is really a sump pump, as a drip system. Kubby said the CO2 generator is like putting the plants on steroids.
“That generator increases the yield by about 30 percent,” Kubby said.
People may use 10 percent of their living area for a grow room, up to a maximum of 250-square-feet. Permits cost more than $300 and are good for one year. A 215 card is required to get the city permit. There is no limit on the number of plants allowed.
Outside Kubby’s house there is no stench of marijuana. That is another requirement of the city’s – to make sure everything is ventilated correctly. Many older homes cannot handle the amount of electricity required to keep a grow room going. That is why fire hazards are common. For Kubby, he changed his electric range and oven to gas to allow for more amps to be used for the grow room.
“We anticipated people might increase the grow area or add things that were not safe, but that has not been the case,” Walker said. “They have been very good about following the rules.”
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Notes:
• Building official Dave Walker and Police Chief Brian Uhler are giving a free informational talk Feb. 2 at 7pm at the Wellness Center in the Bijou Center in South Lake Tahoe. The purpose is to give information about the permit process for indoor grows and to answer questions.
If you’re growing pot, or plan to, please go to the informational talk tonight at 7 pm at the Wellness Center located in Bijou Center. You’ll learn about doing it safely with a proper electrical system, how to prevent mold from spreading into the grow area, getting a permit and controlling the odor. Do it for yourself and your neighbors.
Thank you , OLS
Just wonderin’- Do residents of SLT have to do all this to grow any plants inside? Is it $300.00/year to be OK to grow tomatoes, basil or cilantro? It doesn’t seem reasonable for a person who needs a plant for medicine to have to do and pay for all of this. Our society seems to have lost it’s way on this one.
Isee, Yes 300 bucks does seem “high” for a permit to grow pot indoors. I have house plants on the window sills and am trying to get an early start on basil and tomatoes, also growing alfalfa and radish sprouts in the windows. I’m guessing the $300 goes towards the cost of inspection of the grow area, the electrical system to prevent a fire and ventilation to curb the odor.That, as to the 300 dollar fee?.that’s just a guess on my part. I hope more growers follow the rules as they are set up now. Maybe the the laws can be changed so the permit is more affordable. OLS
If your house and neighborhood burns down because of an indoor grow that doesn’t have a permit and uses dangerous wiring or a city permitted grow that was “approved” it is still dangerous and will have the city under a liability for a lawsuit. These grows should be banned just as the Sheriff of the county asked to do and just as Sacramento County did. Regulate this trouble and smell away as many areas have from neighborhoods and schools for a start and especially any high fire risk area.
Isee and OLS
you are not installing special high wattage lamps and drip systems to give your tomatoes a start — you are using exisiting light and, I imagine, a watering can.
My friend’s income property was ruined by an illegal grow — mold everywhere, blown fuses and electrical panel. He had to rip out all the sheetrock and rewire a good portion of his house, costing tens of thousands of dollars. And no he had not given the tenants permission to grow MJ. Now he has a no grow clause in his lease.
I have been told that many houses on the Tahoe rental market smell like a marijuana grow. This makes houses harder to rent to desirable tenants and brings down the amount of rent the landlord can ask. I have no problem with people smoking pot but if I had a rental I would object to someone ruining it.
Mrs.T. Yes, indoor pot growers have ruined several homes in my neighborhood. Mold, house fires due to jerry rigged wiring or just too much draw on their current electrical system causing an overload and possibly starting a fire. That’s why I encourage all of these indoor pot growers to go thru the proper channels and make sure it’s safe.
Me? I don’t grow or smoke pot. Heck, I have a hard time just keepin’ the house plants alive! And I hate the smell of cigarettes, let alone pot.
You want a real challenge? Try growing vegetables in So. Shore.. Limited sun, poor soil,short growing season and lots of hungry critters that want a portion of your bounty.
Happy growing, as planting time is not far away. OLS
Get the growers, their viscious dogs, their guns and other weapons, their creepy clients, OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. NOW!!!!!
These people do not make good neighbors. They create tension and mistrust, they do not have any “ownership” in the neighborhoods they poison with the stink they create, they usually are disrespectful to others by letting their dogs out to roam and c r a p in everyones yards, they have no pride of ownership because they dont own or are not there to live and be a part of the neighborhood they move into. We need our local law enforcement to start enforcing the laws and run these undesirable people out of our neighborhoods.
The more “welcoming” of marijuana cultivation and sales in any jurisdiction, the more trouble it creates. To grant permits is an encouragement of the problem. What next opium poppy fields? Why not? It is “all natural” medicine for sick people, right?
Legal or not legal, it’s happening. Being cooperative with the people who are being respectful is a good thing. Not everyone who does this are dirtbags. The ones who cause problems? Well, report them. It is easy to do. Now go have a drink…
Guess what? If you don’t like marijuana; the future is gonna suck for you. It’s happening. Period.
Funny some of the same people complaining on here were all for the new brewery (which sucks btw). Drunk driving, fights, domestic violence caused by alcohol is perfectly fine right?
The hypocrisy is astounding. Look at the statistics. Marijuana users are typically non violent, employed and generally friendly. Can you say the same about alcoholics?
Look at colorado. So much revenue made from taxation that their school districts and other government are THRIVING. How bout old cali? Dying.
This article tells me that even the city officials know it’s a losing battle. Please register? Please?
There are several states that are VEHEMENTLY against ANY form of legalization. I suggest you move to one if you don’t like it. cali will be legal in 2016. :)
We have industrial zones. (allowable use areas)Grow the plants there. My neighborhood smelled like a skunk farm until the illegal grow house got busted.
Its been here for a long time, Get use to it,or move ,simple as that.
I don’t think many commenters here object to people smoking pot. What we object to is people destroying rental homes with pot grows. Loss of rental income can devastate a family that depends on it. Your “in your face” attitude diminishes public respect for your goals.
If you want to grow pot either do it with your landlord’s knowledge and approval or buy your own house.
Really??, Your comment on pot grows sums it up perfectly. Thank you, OLS
Mr m and kathy, the issue isnt sick (or not) people smoking pot, its the illegal grow houses that are pretty much in every neighborhood in this community. The people growing UNpermitted are not following the rules for proper ventilation, they are putting everyone nearby in harms way by bringing the threat of violence into our neighborhoods, they are NOT being respectful of the home owners they rent from, they are not getting their $300.00 permit because they are greedy and the only reason they are in this game is for the $. They have no interest in engaging others in the neighborhood they have infiltrated. I know this from first hand experience as the house across the street was an illegal grow house for two years. The renters never interacted with anyone, they kept a pitbull dog locked inside that barked all day long out the window, pretty much every day around 4 the whole neighborhood would stink for the rest of the day. They were turned in many times but there was never a “bust”. And then overnight, they moved out and left a huge mess for the home owner. If some sick (or not) neighbor wanted to grow a few plants for personal use, thats no big deal but its the greedy people that are ruining it for the rest, as usual…
Nature- I don’t get the part where pot growers are “bringing the threat of violence into our neighborhoods” Homeowners can be inconsiderate too, not just renters. You are correct about no busts happening. We watched the EDSO come and go from a grow house owned by a local contractor (who didn’t even try to be considerate of the smell, etc.) and nothing ever happened. I am glad they moved.
I agree with all comments about “Not” growing in a rental home. If it is not your own property, it shouldn’t be done, legal or not. Hopefully discussions such as this will encourage people who own rentals in SLT will put a “no grow” clause into their rental agreements.
Isee, the threat of violence…there illegal grow houses have several known and unknown threats. The known: agressive dogs guarding the houses, unfamiliar people coming and going at all hours of day and night, potential for being broken into by a criminal element, to name a few. Unknown threats: I am going out on a limb here but I have NEVER heard about a illegal grow house bust that didnt include guns at the crime scene or on the perpetrators. Not to mention the possibility of fire or explosions from the drug operations. Domestic violence is often a part of these situations, not to mention child abuse… yes, I would encourage home owners that rent houses to make it very clear about their renters activities and get it in writing and spell out the consequences. Be a present landlord and talk to the other people in the neighborhood if you suspect something. Exercise your rights and just maybe you will be lucky enough to have good renters. I know they exist and they deserve a good place to live too.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35940756/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/criminals-target-medical-marijuana/#.VNE39dJ0wdk
It should REMAIN illegal to conduct retail sales from a residential area. It should also REMAIN illegal to conduct any kind of light industrial commercial activity in a residential area.
If you can’t have a hog farm in a City neighborhood or other Agricultural operations why can you have a Pot Farm. Seems like a zoning issue to me.
Rock,
Ok, never thought I’d say it, but I agree with you wholeheartedly! Can’t see much difference between a hog farmer and a “Skunk”(weed)farmer. They are both producing a malodorous product which does NOT belong in an urban environment, if for no other reason than for the foul stench factor alone.
Moral Hazard, Thanks for the link to criminal activity involving medical marijuana. Look what’s happened in our own town. A couple of dispensaies shut down due to criminal activity and charges of bribery to a public official. In my case a grow house right over the fence from me, the “lady” (and I use the term loosely), crammed in 70 plants into a tiny cabin then, because they tried to wire it so they did’nt have a huge electric bill, the place catcthes fire which could have spread and cost alot of people everything.
Personal use…grow a few plants? I’m fine with that!
Just get these large scale commercial grows out of residential neighborhoods!!! Take care, OLS
P.S,I’m a Dad!!! My basil plant in the window is starting to pop up its little green head! I think I’ll name him Rathbone.
Some of these comments are what’s wrong with America today. Mind your own business.
“But rental houses blah blah blah!”
If you own a rental, put it in your rental agreement. If not maybe you should focus on yourself a bit more.
ILLEGAL grows sure. Go after them. However, people with a recommendation growing in a house they own is perfectly legal. If the grower uses carbon filters to exhaust with you will never smell a thing (as you read in the above article. You did read the article right?)
Here’s a novel idea… If you smell odor from your neighbor perhaps you could BE NEIGHBORLY and knock on their door. Ask if they could use a filtering device so you aren’t offended by the odor. I know. It’s easier to hide behind your blinds and call the police. Hopefully Johnny Poland is in the case!
This town has a LOT more to worry about than a few stoners. Kinda sad to see what’s happened to the older crowd in SLT. Paranoia, grumpiness and entitlement.
As I’ve stated before its a moot point. I Garauntee you will be smelling more and more and more marijuana as the hypocrisy finally ends.
Mr. Mustache,
I assume you’ve never been a landlord. If you think pot growers would pay even the slightest bit of attention to a “Rental Agreement” you need to put the pipe down right now. They will destroy a house and then vaporize like a thin trail of smoke. You will not be able to find them. They deal in cash and leave little electronic trace with which to pursue them. If they burn one town they just move on. You’d better hope your Homeowner’s policy will kick in above the deductible, but you’re still going to take a big hit (no pun intended).
They are selfish, destructive scum who will trash your property without a second thought… all just for the pursuit of the next bong hit and a pocketful of cash. And I would be willing to bet that a good percentage of them are on taxpayer funded public assistance of some sort, as well. Purely anecdotal, but it seems whenever I get behind some dreadlocked riff-raff in the grocery store line, they reek of skunk and whip out their trusty EBT CARD to pay for their foodstuffs. Just my experience.
Did you ever smell the perfume they are selling at the stores that smell like pot? Maybe that is what you are smelling ,a lot of people are buying this now, so when you come across a person that smells like pot ,consider this, Its that perfume you are smelling .SMELL THAT SMELL.
Ummm, NO, Kathy. The aroma of perfume does not emanate from a house that has its windows blacked out with visqueen.
Do you really think people are that stupid???
@ralph cramden I own 2 rental properties. Stop blowing smoke (puns are the lowest form of satire, get some new material)
Really Kathy? You definately have been stoned for too long. The smell in my neighborhood is not from a perfume bottle.
Nature bats,Never said anything about houses ,Now I wonder who is stoned ?
Considering that we live in California during the age of “global warming”, I’m still a little surprised to find out there is such a thing as a Co2 generator and they are legal.
Kathy, maybe you didnt say anything about houses/rentals but that was what everyone else was talking about (read above posts, if you can). Short attention spans are a side effect of…..well, we all know….
Nature bats,Go pick on someone else.You are so good at that.