Juneau has issued its first conditional use permit for a marijuana business.<\/p>\n
June Hall and Paul Disdier, of the Fireweed Factory LLC, celebrated with friends and soon-to-be industry competitors outside Assembly Chambers late Tuesday night after the city\u2019s Planning Commission unanimously approved their CUP.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very relieved, and I\u2019m happy for other North Douglas or D1 residents who want to get a grow operation going under the CUP process,\u201d Hall told the Empire after the meeting.<\/p>\n
During her testimony and in the CUP application, Hall explained that the name Fireweed Factory is somewhat of a misnomer. The business, a limited marijuana grow operation, is hardly a factory, she said. (They would\u2019ve preferred the name Fireweed Farms, but it was already taken.)<\/p>\n
In reality, the Fireweed Factory will look more like the Fireweed Shed from the outside, if it can be seen at all. The building in which Hall and Disdier will be growing will be no larger than a two-car garage, and it will be located behind trees and an existing shed on their North Douglas property.<\/p>\n
Unassuming though it may appear on the outside, Hall, Disdier and several other public testifiers assured the Planning Commission that this grow operation is quite impressive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis operation is state of the art. It\u2019s top of the line; it\u2019s right there with the best of them,\u201d James Barrett explained during public testimony. \u201cFrom an industry standpoint, this is an awesome setup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not to be confused with the owner of the now-demolished Gastineau Apartments, Barrett owns and operates Rainforest Farms LLC, a marijuana cultivation business, with his brother, Giono.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis setup is immaculate,\u201d Giono added later in the public participation period of Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of setups, and this one is phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
What makes it so impressive, according to the Barretts and other testifiers, is that it will run a closed-loop system, which means that all the water and air used in the growing process will be recycled. Nothing \u2014 other than marijuana and the people growing it \u2014 will leave the cultivation building.<\/p>\n
The Barretts weren\u2019t the only ones to testify in support of Hall and Disdier Tuesday night. Eight other people \u2014 a mix of friends, neighbors and industry professionals \u00ad\u2014 spoke on their behalf during the meeting. <\/p>\n
John Chapman lives next to Hall and Disdier, and though he didn\u2019t support the ballot measure that legalized marijuana, he told the Planning Commission that he does support his neighbors. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn all honesty, I voted against the initiative to legalize marijuana, so I\u2019m kind of surprised I\u2019m sitting here, but I fully support what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cI don\u2019t smoke pot, but I\u2019m behind them 100 percent. If anybody gets the right to do it, I hope it\u2019s them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For an outside observer who only attended Tuesday\u2019s Planning Commission meeting, it would\u2019ve been hard to tell that this CUP sparked controversy only a month ago. <\/p>\n
In early February, public hearing notices ignited public outrage over the Assembly\u2019s Nov. 9 decision to allow limited marijuana cultivation in some residential zones outside the urban service boundary. The matter even led to the dismissal of the commission\u2019s chair, Nicole Grewe, whom Assembly members said damaged the public\u2019s trust in the commission by not properly disclosing a potential conflict of interest. She lives less than 500 feet down the street from Hall and Disdier. <\/p>\n
Only two people testified against the permit Tuesday, one of whom was Todd Boris, Grewe\u2019s husband. He took issue with the fact that the Planning Commission was hearing Hall and Disdier\u2019s CUP while there is still an outstanding marijuana ordinance waiting to be heard by the Assembly. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can all just go at a slower pace and make sure the process is right,\u201d Borris told the commission. <\/p>\n
His point was not a new one. During at least two commission meetings, Grewe asked her then-fellow commissioners if they were interested in postponing any marijuana CUP hearings until after all marijuana-related ordinances had been passed. Her requests never garnered any support.<\/p>\n
Though the commission didn\u2019t heed Boris\u2019 request, it did take reasonable steps to make sure that Hall and Disdier will comply with any regulations that Assembly members might add to the marijuana ordinance that will be before them at their next work session. <\/p>\n
At the request of commissioner Michael LeVine, the commission added a stipulation to the CUP requiring Hall and Disdier to comply with any potential future regulations. It would also allow the commission to revisit their CUP within the next three months if the Assembly makes any substantial changes to conditional use permit requirements in the ordinance before it. <\/p>\n
Before it passed, Planning Commission Chair Ben Haight spoke in favor of the motion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis application has set a standard,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s putting that bar up where it will be a good measure for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"