Hood River County Planning Commission denies appeal against marijuana facility

Hood River Cannabis Co., a licensed Oregon Liquor Control Commission recreational cannabis farm, would convert an existing agriculture building into a pot processing facility in conjunction with its growing business.

Sanborn applied last fall for permitting to build the facility on a 19.5-acre piece of Exclusive Farm Use-zoned land next to Whiskey Creek Drive, owned by Steve and Peggy Leslie. County planners approved the application in October.

A month later, Ryan filed an appeal, in which his attorney named his client as an “interested neighbor.” Building records show Ryan owns a home on nearby Eastside Road.

On Wednesday evening, Ryan made his case at a Planning Commission hearing in Hood River. He argued that such marijuana businesses negatively impact community character, and that his own company has been treated unequally by the county in the past.

He also argued the proposed marijuana business would decrease the property market value of neighboring homes — Ryan said his was over $2 million.

“As per the most recent county ordinance, fencing is required around all marijuana facilities. Do you really want the scenic Hood River Valley to be the little Guantanamo Bay?” Ryan said, referencing the offshore U.S. military prison.

Hood River Juice Co. (Ryan’s Juice) operates at 550 Riverside Drive on the Hood River waterfront. It represents one of the city’s largest employers — more than 140 employees, according to its website.

The juice business moved to that spot after a criminal pollution case involving Ryan in 2010. That September, Ryan pled guilty to misdemeanor pollution counts related to his Country Club Road juice plant’s wastewater system, the News reported at the time.

The Planning Commission unanimously decided to approve Sanborn’s proposed marijuana business, according to County Planning Director John Roberts. “The proposal met all standards and laws,” Roberts said.

Staff did, however, earlier re-modify existing conditions in the application to more specifically declare rules that a certain amount of the marijuana being processed must be grown on site, Roberts explained. That amount is 25 percent, by state law, which Ryan’s attorney stated in comments.

This case, Roberts said, was a learning experience as the county’s first approved marijuana processing plant on farm land, whereas previous facilities have been on industrial zones.

“It was good for us. This was the first processing facility we have approved for use on EFU,” Roberts said.

Ryan could still challenge the commission’s decision, Roberts explained. Once the planning commission’s order is signed, Ryan will have a 15-day window of opportunity to file an appeal to the Hood River County Board of Commissioners.

In other action, Planning Commission approved a proposed 24-lot housing subdivision north of Odell called “Barrett Vista.”

The developer, Consolidated Land & Cattle, was the same company that introduced Barrel Springs, a proposed housing subdivision at Belmont Avenue in Hood River.