Dispute over pot garden heats up

<p>A neighborhood dispute involving a Santa Rosa man's medical marijuana garden shows no sign of flaming out, and in fact, is gathering heat.</p><p>Sonoma County code enforcement officers said they are planning to serve notice on Alan MacFarlane that his Hull Street home is not in compliance with city codes, requiring the disabled veteran to take corrective action.</p><p>The move comes three years after county officials determined that MacFarlane did not obtain the necessary permits to build a greenhouse where he grows and processes marijuana.</p><p>MacFarlane will "have a very short time to respond" to the county's demand that he submit construction plans and pay a fine as conditions to be in compliance, said Ben Neuman, the county's code enforcement manager.</p><p>However, that doesn't address the marijuana MacFarlane grows out of doors in his backyard, which is at the heart of a dispute that has divided the neighborhood near West Third Street and North Dutton Avenue.</p><p>MacFarlane declined comment last week.</p><p>A former combat law enforcement specialist in the Air Force, he says he grows marijuana for his private use and that of several patients, in what law enforcement officials describe as a legal co-op under Proposition 215, the landmark 1996 law that allows marijuana to be grown and used for medicinal purposes.</p><p>But several neighbors said they're weary of pot plants growing above MacFarlane's 8-foot fence and of his motion-detection alarms. Some say the garden attracts criminals, and they fear for their safety.</p><p>The conflict is greatest between MacFarlane and his next-door neighbor, Jeremy Gardea, who erected large signs in his front yard calling MacFarlane a "pot dealer" and pointing people away from his house and toward his neighbor.</p><p>Gardea took the last of the signs down last week. But the public war continues. MacFarlane put up four American flags on a disputed fence that separates the men's shared driveway. He also is building a fence around his front yard.</p><p>The Gardeas, Stacey and Jeremy, say MacFarlane has filed several lawsuits against them, including one alleging that one of their dogs bit him on the nose, and another accusing the couple of dousing his plants with water to damage his crop.</p><p>The couple denies the allegations. They also say MacFarlane has been posting comments about them on a Yahoo chat group for people in recovery from substance abuse.</p><p>Jeremy Gardea said he's contacted the county numerous times to try and get them to follow up on MacFarlane's alleged permit violations.</p><p>"Why won't the county do their job? Are they so afraid of him? I'm not afraid of him," he said.</p><p>Neuman said several new complaints related to the ongoing feud have been submitted to the county's Permit and Resource Management Department in recent weeks. He declined to elaborate on their nature.</p><p>"Until we complete the investigation and verify the allegations, I don't want to put them in the public," Neuman said. "If we find that they are valid, we'll fold them into the existing case."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Derek J. Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@ pressdemocrat.com.</p>