WRONG ANSWER TO GROWING PROBLEM

Any compromise over medical marijuana
in urban renewal areas should not trample property rights of pot growers.

Some areas of Denver that were poised to shrug off blight now could be
stuck with hulking warehouses for years to come, thanks to another
unintended consequence of Colorado's medical marijuana laws.

And while that would be regrettable, it's a preferable alternative to
Denver's city council attempting to yank permits already obtained by
businesses that want to grow marijuana in those big warehouses.

It appears that plan has stalled, as its architect, City Councilwoman
Judy Montero, told us late Monday that after discussing the matter
with the city attorney, she no longer believes the city could legally
rescind permits already issued.

The dynamic at work springs from the new laws approved this past
spring by the Colorado General Assembly, and championed by state Sen.
Chris Romer of Denver, who is considering a run for mayor.

Because the new rules require medical marijuana dispensaries to grow
70 percent of the drug that they sell, an estimated 1 million square
feet of warehouse space in Denver now houses medical marijuana growers.

Much of that space had languished unoccupied, but growers obtained
so-called agricultural husbandry permits in order to grow the weed and
created a mini rush on the market.

In 2009, Denver issued about 10 of the permits. By the end of October,
the city had issued 250 permits, according to The Denver Post's
Christopher N. Osher. And though the permits don't require the
applicant to state what is being grown, observers believe most of them
went to medical marijuana growers.

The growers are paying good money for warehouse leases, and in some
cases seeking contractual clauses that would allow for future
ownership of the spaces that some have spent hundreds of thousands
dollars to retrofit.

Not so long ago, before the state's new medical marijuana laws took
effect, some warehouse owners might have been inclined to take
advantage of Denver's new zoning laws to redevelop the old buildings
to better fit their surrounding communities. But now they can make
more money renting to medical marijuana growers.

A poster child for the conflict is the Brighton Boulevard area north
of downtown Denver, where "new urbanism" developers and advocates say
a LoDo-type renaissance is now in jeopardy.

Councilwoman Montero, who represents the community, wanted the council
to rescind the agricultural husbandry permits issued to the growers.
She remains intent on finding a compromise. We understand her
frustration, even if we disagree with her original tactic.

Years of community discussion and input created the new zoning codes
that went into effect this summer, and her community sought the
revision that allows more commercial and residential uses. In fact,
one of the warehouse owners who recently signed a five-year lease to a
cooperative of growers had planned to raze the space and develop
condominiums.

But retroactively denying a permit to businesses already spending
their money to occupy a space would have been bad civic policy, and
whatever solution Montero advances now must avoid trampling the rights
of the owners of private property.