BOULDER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TENTATIVELY SUPPORT LONGMONT-AREA POT FARM

Two of Boulder County's three commissioners tentatively agreed Tuesday
with the Land Use Department's conclusion that a medical marijuana
farm could be allowed north of Longmont.

But commissioners Will Toor and Ben Pearlman delayed making a final
decision until Commissioner Cindy Domenico, who was absent Tuesday,
could weigh in and until all three could meet with county attorneys to
get legal advice.

At the beginning of June, the owners of Szymanski Farms, 10347
Yellowstone Road, submitted a "site plan review" application to the
county to change the use allowed on their farm from commercial feed
yard to intensive agricultural. Scott Mullner, of Laramie, Wyo.,
joined Cyd and Steve Szymanski on the application with the plan of
buying the farm if the land-use change -- which would allow medical
marijuana to be grown and processed inside the five existing
agricultural buildings on the property -- goes through.

On June 8, the commissioners voted to revise the county's land-use
codes to restrict where medical marijuana dispensaries and growing
operations can set up shop. The new rules forbid the operation of
marijuana centers in any agricultural zone, but the Szymanskis'
application -- which was turned in days before the changes were
approved -- is being judged by the older rules.

Earlier this month, the Land Use Department decided that the site plan
review application did, in fact, meet the rules laid out in the older
code.

"We reviewed the 16 site plan review standards and concluded that
there were no significant conflicts that could not be mitigated,"
Summer Howard, the county land-use planner who analyzed the
application, said at Tuesday's meeting.

The commissioners are now deciding whether they want to "call up" the
application. If they do, the commissioners then act as judges, ruling
on whether the Land Use Department correctly applied the code,
according to Commissioner Pearlman.

"It's not something where we are allowed to use our judgment as to
whether we think it's a good idea or a bad idea or something we want
to see or don't want to see," Pearlman said. "When we deal with
land-use dockets, we deal with them in quasi-judicial capacity, which
means it's our obligation to look at the code and the application
that's presented to us and match them up."

The commissioners only call up dockets when they believe there is a
good chance that their own analysis would conflict with the Land Use
Department's. And on Tuesday, both commissioners said they found the
staff analysis to be correct. At the earliest, the commissioners will
make a final decision on whether to call up the docket on Aug. 31, but
no official date has been set.

Though no public comment was taken at Tuesday's meeting, about 20
people showed up to oppose the proposed pot farm, citing concerns
about increased crime, the impact of the operation on neighboring home
values and the farm's proximity to the Mountain States Children's
Home, which sits about 2,000 feet away.

Carl Peters, who lives down the road from the Szymanski farm, said he
disagrees that the application meets all the site plan review
standards, especially the one that requires the proposal to be
compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

"I don't see how it could be appropriate to put a marijuana facility
near an orphanage," he said. "How can that be compatible?"