The Longmont City Council will once again decide whether a future marijuana business outside of city limits should be granted Longmont water service.
Boulder County approved a change in land use that would allow JSS LLC to use an existing building at 9800 119th St. for a 3,000-square-foot marijuana cultivation facility.
Scott Oliver, an attorney representing JSS LLC, is requesting both an outside water tap and an outside sewer tap from Longmont for the strip of property that abuts the northern bank of the St. Vrain River.
The situation is similar to a pot grow slated for Hygiene that went before the council in October. The owners of 7592 Hygiene Road asked the council to change a residential tap that tied into Longmont’s water system to a commercial tap so it could be used for the business. Even though the Longmont Water Board recommended the council approve the change, the council denied it on a vote of 4-1.
Several Hygiene residents told the council they didn’t want a marijuana grow near their homes or businesses.
The application for the building at 9800 119th St. was originally for a retail and grow facility. The grow would go in the existing 3,000-square-foot building while developers would construct an additional 3,000-square-foot building for the retail portion of the business.
Consultants for JSS LLC wrote in initial application documents that the retail store would have been "one of the largest, newest and comfortable in the state."
The company later revised the application, eliminating the plans for a retail store after preliminary studies revealed the traffic might be too much for the location.
"The county and the state discovered that the traffic flows for retail are much higher than they originally thought … so they wouldn’t allow any retail until a traffic study is done," Oliver said. "So retail there is impossible there because of the traffic."
The revised application is for three grow bays in the existing building, with between two and three employees. The secure grow facility would focus "on high quality product for the specialty market, including special strains that are International Cannabis Cup winners that are not being carried at other shops because of the lack of ability to get the strain from the botanist," according to application documents submitted to the county.
The building would include an office, a restroom and a safe room in addition to the grow bays, according to application materials.
The council was originally scheduled to consider the question on Tuesday, but Oliver said he was only notified of the upcoming meeting this week and had a previous engagement. City staff rescheduled it tentatively for Jan. 24.
The Longmont city charter states that Longmont can provide municipal services outside of city limits if "it clearly benefits the inhabitants of the city."
The sewer tap is a relatively smaller issue than the water tap, because sewer taps aren’t reviewed by the Water Board and the city has a vested interest in keeping septic tanks away from the St. Vrain River.
The Water Board, however, voted 4-0 that they could not find a clear benefit to Longmont residents to providing the property with an outside water tap.
The applicant would have to estimate how much water the grow would use and either provide Longmont with the equivalent amount of water rights or cash-in-lieu, said Ken Huson, Longmont water resources manager.
There is not another available source for potable water to the property and JSS LLC would have to provide Longmont with a conservation easement on the land next to the river, Longmont staff wrote in a memo to council.
Oliver said his clients originally thought there was a working well on the property but later discovered it is unusable.
"The well that was originally there was permitted for domestic use because there was a trailer there," Oliver said. "But they were using it improperly and we didn’t know that … it’s a lousy well anyway because the water at the bottom of that creek bed is all brackish and full of minerals and undrinkable."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Marijuana Grow Hoping To Locate Along St. Vrain Looks To Longmont Council For Water Hookup
Author: Karen Antonacci
Contact: 303-776-2244
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Website: Times-Call
