LARIMER COMMISSIONERS SAY YES AND NO TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTERS

Medical marijuana businesses hoping to operate just outside Fort
Collins city limits received split results Monday from the Larimer
County commissioners.

The commissioners approved a land-use application from Flower Power
Botanicals to operate but turned down a bid from Premier Wellness
Center, which sought permission to open a dispensary in the Small Mall
Condominiums, a business park at 2321 E. Mulberry St.

The proposed dispensary would not be incompatible with nearby
businesses or a residential area less than 1,000 feet away, the
commissioners said.

"To me, these special reviews have to have a pretty high bar for
compatibility," Commissioner Steve Johnson said.

Commissioners Tom Donnelly and Lew Gaiter agreed the business would
not fit in well with the area, which is southeast of the intersection
of Mulberry Street and Timberline Road.

"This is probably a poster child for a property that doesn't fit,"
Donnelly said.

The commissioners were more supportive of Flower Power Botanicals,
which would operate out of a warehouse at 1308 Duff Drive in an
industrial area off Link Lane in north Fort Collins.

The center would grow and dispense medical marijuana to about 500
patients. It would have about 1,000 mature plants and another 1,000
clones or seedlings in its growing operation.

Owner Peter Verchick said he reached out to surrounding businesses to
discuss his plans in addition to sending notification letters as
required by the county.

"I have done everything I think I can," he said.

No one from the public spoke in favor or in opposition to Verchick's
proposal at the public hearing. A few neighboring businesses wrote
letters of support for the business.

Donnelly noted the commissioners have voted down other proposed
centers that had sought approval to operate in the area. Those
proposals were opposed by other businesses in the neighborhood.

"I know this area has struggled in the past and I worry the potential
is there for it to degrade further," he said.

But Donnelly said the plan from Flower Power Botanicals was
professional and well thought out.

The absence of opposition to the proposal "speaks volumes," Gaiter
said.

Premier Wellness was opposed by other businesses in the Small Mall,
primarily over concerns about parking in the modest development and
the possibility that they may not be able to get insurance if a
marijuana business moves in.

Scott Stokely of Premier Wellness said the company would make up the
difference if other businesses saw their insurance rates go up.

The business, which did not plan to grow marijuana on site, wanted to
be an asset to the neighborhood and the Mulberry Corridor, he said. He
and his partners are hard-working and honest, Stokely said.

"We are exactly the type of people you want running this type of
business," he said.

But the commissioners said they have to be sensitive to neighborhood
concerns.

Following the hearing, Stokely said he holds no ill feelings toward
the county or the process Premier Wellness had to go through.

"The fact that they are approving some folks means they are not
discriminating," he said.

The company has spent about $26,000 to apply for a medical marijuana
license to operate through the state, he said, that will not be refunded.

Earlier this year the commissioners approved a ban on medical
marijuana businesses in unincorporated parts of the county, but
allowed businesses going through a land-use review to continue going
through the process.

Flower Power is only the second medical marijuana business to be
approved by the county.