The opportunity for the public to weigh in on the Arcata Land Company’s proposed 22.9-acre commercial cannabis facility at the former Simpson Timber mill site will come to a close March 18, when the county planning commission takes up the issue. Community members have raised concerns that the project — spanning nearly 1 million square feet — is too close to residential neighborhoods and Pacific Union School in the Arcata Bottoms.
Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford agreed that “the scale of the project probably catches people’s attention,” but said the project complies with commercial medical marijuana laws.
“This is an old industrial site and that has been kind of a priority of the county to see these old industrial sites re-utilized and to have them re-utilized for cannabis purposes has been something that’s desirable,” Ford told the Times-Standard on Wednesday. “It doesn’t take away from like prime ag land and it doesn’t force people into sensitive natural environments. So from that perspective, this is a very favorable site.”
Sun Valley Farms, an Arcata-based flower company, acquired the former mill site in the late 1990s and created the Arcata Land Company to administer the property. Sun Valley CEO Lane DeVries said Arcata Land Company cleaned up the 38.3-acre property and began using it as an additional cultivating site.
“(Arcata Land Company) is an integral part of what we currently do in the flower operation but it is a separate company,” DeVries said. “The prospect of developing this site could be a potential lifeline to our business and provides additional employment opportunities.”
Rapid minimum wage increases, the elimination of the agricultural overtime exemption and rising health insurance costs have led to “challenging business conditions,” DeVries said.
“This is the scenario that we have been dealing with for the last several years. Then COVID-19 hit our company, particularly hard,” DeVries said. “Many, many flowers destined for the Easter holiday last spring were largely left unpicked in our greenhouse due to all the shelter-in-place orders in the United States. I mean, millions and millions of flowers were blooming away in our greenhouses last year.”
DeVries said the proposed cannabis farm offers “a glimmer of hope” for the company.
“We want to continue flower operations and grow in Humboldt County for many, many years to come. This cannabis project could provide a game-changer for our company. It would allow our company to continue operations and employment of our current base of 450 team members,” DeVries said.
The cannabis farm would employ up to 116 additional people, according to the project proposal.
DeVries said Sun Valley Farms’ experience in global flower sales and the “immense amount of local knowledge in the cannabis community” will enhance their success.
“We anticipate leasing portions of this project and partnering with existing local commercial cannabis operators,” he said. “We believe that this project helps Humboldt County to stay relevant in the California cannabis market where large-scale cultivation occurring (across the state) has displaced the historical role Humboldt has played in developing the California cannabis industry. …We can see this project as a way to work together with some of the local farmers in the community.”
The Times-Standard has received several emails from concerned community members regarding the scale of the site.
When asked why the Arcata Land Company sought such a large permit, DeVries said, “This is an industrial site. Industrial-zoned land does not have the same cultivation size limitations as other cannabis projects in the county, primarily because there are fewer environmental impacts. The logic of a larger facility was a qualitative process. We’ll make cannabis from this facility more competitive in the California market.”
Ford acknowledged community members’ concern of odor and said the Arcata Land Company had addressed mitigating potential odor in its proposal.
“They’re going to run their airflow through a carbon filtration unit,” Ford said, adding, “I can see why people would be really concerned about that.”
“We are confident odor will not be an issue,” DeVries said.
The facility must be at least 600 feet away from any schools, Ford said the site is at least a half-mile away from Pacific Union School “as the crow flies.”
The 30-day public comment period will end on Friday for the initial mitigated negative declaration but comments on the project, in general, will be accepted through March 18. Comments can be sent to the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department at 3015 H St. Eureka, CA 95501 or to Senior Planner Rodney Yandell at ryandell@co.humboldt.ca.us.
The county Planning Commission will consider the matter during a public hearing on March 18.
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