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The ranks of permitted cannabis farms in Humboldt County dwindled a bit more today as the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to revoke 14 cultivation permits over failure to pay long-overdue planning and building fees.

In reality, those permit holders likely stopped growing weed (for the state’s legal marketplace, at least) long ago. In a staff report, Planning Manager Cliff Johnson reminded the board that, way back in February 2025, they directed delinquent growers to pony up their past-due taxes and fees (or enter payment plans to do so) by Dec. 31, 2025, or else face the loss of their permits.

The county has revoked several dozen permits already. As for this latest batch, the board suspended 22 permits permits back in February, giving those growers until March 31 to resolve their debts. Since then, six operators paid what they owed, leaving 16 in line for revocation at today’s meeting. Johnson said one of those 16 paid their bill just last week, and a prospective buyer for another permit agreed to clear the outstanding charges. Staff recommended nixing the remaining 14 permits.

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell asked whether any of the affected operators also owed Measure S cannabis cultivation taxes. Johnson said they did not and noted that such cases had already been handled in separate revocation proceedings. He added that most permit holders on the list no longer hold valid state cannabis licenses, meaning they can’t operate legally regardless of the county’s decision.

With that, the board cast its unanimous vote, capping off one of the board’s shortest meetings of the year. 

But wait! A couple other odds and ends worth mentioning:

• First District Supervisor Rex Bohn pulled a couple of matters off of the consent calendar to question their fiscal responsibility. One was a nearly $1.5 million bid award to the firm SVT Gruppe, Inc. to provide 10 months of security and transportation services to the Department of Health and Human Services. “I noticed that we went with the highest bid,” Bohn remarked. DHHS Director Connie Beck said she didn’t have a justification immediately to hand, since she didn’t know the matter would be pulled, but would be happy to provide one. Bohn said he didn’t want to reject the request; he just wanted staff to keep the current budget shortfall in mind for such decisions. He made the same gesture regarding the purchase and installation of a new camera system in the Juvenile Hall, questioning the purchase before waving it through.
• In closed session, the board was scheduled to consider green-lighting negotiations to purchase a building at 1101 4th Street in Eureka. Located at the corner of 4th and L, less than a block from the county courthouse, the squat building (pictured below) currently includes three storefronts and a very faded mural. No word yet on what the county aims to do with it.