A cannabis processing and distribution plant planned for the site of a historic winery in Redwood Valley is likely to draw vocal opposition from some neighbors at a special meeting of the towns advisory planning body on Thursday.
Flow Kana, an Oakland company that packages and distributes cannabis produced by boutique-size, organic farmers, pitched the project to the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Committee in December, stressing the bargaining leverage small growers could enjoy by packaging and shipping their product through a centralized, cooperative facility.
Neighbors living near the Fetzer Home Ranch Winery at 1150 Bel Arbres Road raised a number of concerns about the project, especially regarding security and increased traffic, which the company has sought to address.
Residents wondered whether the project would attract burglars. A company spokeswoman, Amanda Reiman, said in a press release that the company will install security cameras and thumbprint-access devices and hire guards to monitor the premises.
Kerri Vau, a Coldwell Banker real-estate agent in Ukiah, said at the meeting that the business would lower home values in the area because people would be unwilling to live close to a marijuana-production facility, said Cassie Taaning-Trotter, a member of the RVMAC.
In her press release, Reiman responded that one of the companys goals is to improve the value of the community through both financial investment and promotion of the small farmers who produce cannabis here.
Raw product will be shipped in and finished packages hauled away on a residential road with a 25-mph speed limit, while a tasting room will draw tourists, raising neighbors fears of excessive traffic in their community.
In her press release, Reiman said the company would complete the project in phases over several years so that traffic impacts could be assessed as it develops. In addition, traffic-control measures, including stop signs and road restoration, would mitigate the increased traffic, she said.
Responding to worries about odor, Reiman said that very little cultivation would occur on the site, and only in an enclosed location.
Michael Steinmetz, CEO and founder of Flow Kana, argued at the meeting that by providing the infrastructure for small cannabis cultivators to distribute their product on a large scale, the company would enable independent growers to compete with large companies that will move in when the industry is fully legal, said Taaning-Trotter.
Flow Kana has completed preliminary paperwork with the county but has yet to submit an application, Taaning-Trotter said.
Steinmetz will seek to allay community concerns through public conferences such as Thursdays RVMAC meeting before turning in a full application, and RVMAC will keep the Planning Commission abreast of its concerns and preferences as the formal planning process progresses, she said.
County planning staff met with Steinmetz and RVMAC members in December to get more information on the project and asked for public comment before accepting an application, said Taaning-Trotter. The county has endeavored to engage Redwood Valley residents early in the planning process to avoid a repeat of the communitys infamous Dollar General controversy, she said.
During the bitterly contested development of a Dollar General store, Redwood Valley residents complained at Planning Commission meetings that the county had ignored their concerns and had not done enough to inform them of the project.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Cannabis Co-Op Proposed In Redwood Valley
Author: Erick O’Donnell
Contact: (707) 468-3500
Photo Credit: Sarah L. Voisin
Website: The Ukiah Daily Journal
