DISPENSARY PLAN HITS STUMBLING BLOCK BUT WILL GO BEFORE COUNTY AGAIN

FORT COLLINS -- Larimer County Planning Commission members told James
Hinojos they liked his business plan for the medical marijuana
dispensary he wants to open on College Avenue south of Carpenter Road.

But after hearing many neighbors tell their concerns about the
business at a hearing Wednesday night, the planning commissioners
voted 7-1 to recommend that the county commissioners deny his special
review request.

The Loveland man is seeking a special review of the dispensary and an
appeal of the requirement that the business be at least 500 feet from
any homes.

He proposed using a 550-square-foot corner of the Novus Auto Glass
building at 7704 S. College Ave. that is 484 feet away from the nearest home.

Rob Helmick of the county Planning Department said the county's
regulation is more restrictive than the state regulation put in place
earlier this year, and the proposed business did meet the state criteria.

One of the major criteria of the special review decision is
compatibility, Gerald Hart of the Planning Commission said. He said
he did not think that criterion was met.

Hart told Hinojos and the crowd of neighbors that the Planning
Commission recommendation will go forward to the Board of County
Commissioners for a final decision, and they will all have another
chance to present their views.

Planning commissioner Curtis Miller said he initially was opposed to
the request, but after reviewing it, seeing where it is and the
security planned, and in view of Loveland and Windsor closing down
dispensaries, he was inclined to believe the proposed facility would
be one of the only dispensaries available for Loveland residents.

Commissioner Jana Hess said she was part of the group that set the
county's distance requirement last January.

"While I think you are an excellent applicant, I am loath to break
that distance," she told Hinojos. "I haven't for anybody, and I won't for you."

And commissioner Karen Weitkunat said she did not think the proposal
warranted some of the fear coming from the neighborhood, but the
dispensary has to be compatible with existing uses and in harmony
with neighbors

"From the discussion we've heard, that harmony just isn't there," she
said, adding that she thinks Hinojos would be extremely successful if
he found a different location.

Hinojos told commissioners his business would be professional, with
no marijuana visible from outside. "We're not painting our building
green," he said.

Hinojos said he is looking at putting bar codes on his product, so if
it gets into the hands of someone who shouldn't have it, he would be
able to trace it back to who bought it.

Eighteen people spoke during Wednesday's public hearing, most of them
neighbors with concerns.

Cottonwood Plains Elementary School is nearby, 3,150 feet away, and
some people were concerned about the dispensary's proximity to children.

Others were concerned about the effect on property values and whether
there is adequate law enforcement to handle any problems at the dispensary.

"Certainly that facility will be too close to our neighborhood and
all the people who live around us, and a variance is not called for,
under any circumstances," neighbor Bob Wood said.

"I adamantly oppose this. This is my neighborhood, and I do not want
them in my neighborhood," Jeff Vanhook said.