COUNTY SHOULD HAVE HELD POT FARM HEARING

The area around the 67-acre Szymanski Farms property at 10437
Yellowstone Road, north of Longmont, is lightly populated.

But it appears that most of the area's residents were against the
Boulder County commissioners' approval of Laramie, Wyo., resident
Scott Mullner's request to change the property's use to allow an
indoor medical marijuana growing operation there at some point in the
future.

The commissioners last week decided they might consider a public
hearing on the request, then on Tuesday backtracked and let the county
Land Use Department's Aug. 5 approval of the land-use change stand.

Sure, they had the right to do that and essentially said their hands
were tied because the Land Use Department went by the rules in place
at the time. But, considering the amount of opposition and the
controversial nature of Mullner's proposal, the least commissioners
could do have done is give residents a forum to air their concerns.

A public hearing may not have changed the commissioners' decision to
OK Mullner's request, but at the very least it would have provided
residents with a better explanation of the process and why a proposed
medical marijuana facility is considered an appropriate use for the
site.