Cannabis may not have been the agriculture industry the City of Colusa necessarily wanted, but it is the agriculture industry they got.
For legal marijuna manufacturers trying to keep their time and financial investments from going up in smoke before their products reach the market, many are fleeing to cannabis-friendly communities like Colusa from cities like San Francisco and Sacramento – where onerous regulations and the real estate market come at a high premium.
“One of the reasons for coming to Colusa is the climate around the state, the cost of real estate, the pandemic, and the cost of everything,” said Joel Gonzales, with whom the Planning Commission approved a developer agreement April 13 for a cannabis extraction business, located on developed property at the south end of Niagara Avenue, inside Colusa Industrial Properties.
Gonzales’ company “Genesis Extracts” had been in the works in Oakland for about 18 months, costing the owner nothing but time and money.
“Nothing was able to be done,” he said. “Nothing got even close to the finish line. If it wasn’t for Colusa, I would be even further inland and south.”
Genesis Extracts was one of three companies approved for Developer Agreements, which are essentially binding promises to follow the state’s legal cannabis regulations and pay the city 3 percent of the business’ gross receipts.
The City Council will provide final approval of the agreements, as well as set conditions for the businesses’ building and use permits.
“Odor is a deal breaker,” admonished Planning Commission Chairman Richard Selover, who said the City Council intends to put more “teeth” into their final agreements, after they were burned by companies that failed to live up to their promises.
The Planning Commission also approved developer agreements with Hunny Pot Farms, located at 2949 Niagara, and FHF Partnership, at 2881 Niagara, the former longtime home of a milling and bean drying facility. CIP was also home to other agricultural and light industrial businesses that have since gone.
“Whether we like it or not, we are seeing a big change in agribusiness right now…,” said Ed Hulbert, CIP executive director. “We’ve got about 60,000 square feet that’s vacant (at the former milling and bean facility). This new project will take 11,000 in the smaller building. So it’s a second generation after 35 years to get a business that is going to start paying tax and part of the program. What other agria-businesses are out there? We’re always working on some new ones, but it’s definitely changing in Colusa County.”
The new cannabis businesses, when operational, anticipate around 15 full time jobs will be created at each. The facilities will be developed, some inside existing buildings, with modern air filtration and odor-control systems.
Colusa officials admit to having buyer’s remorse for allowing two large cannabis manufacturing companies in the downtown core of the city.
City Manager Jesse Cain said efforts are still underway by the companies to control odor.
But now that Colusa Industrial Properties has been annexed into the city limits, the Planning Commission has recommended to the City Council to adopt the new ordinance to exclude marijuana businesses, including retail, from commercial and riverfront districts, in keeping with an agreement between the City Council and the County of Colusa when they negotiated a tax share agreement for the CIP annexation.
The Colusa City Council has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed ordinance for 6 PM on May 3, in council chambers at City Hall.
Except for certain light industrial locations, such as East Clay Street, where a larger cannabis park has been proposed, Colusa Planning Commissioners said cannabis facilities are best suited for the industrial park.
“All the growth that I have seen in this area has been mainly at Colusa Industrial Properties,” said Commissioner Dick Armocido. “They have invested a lot of money trying to bring businesses to our community. The Industrial Property park out there has a great agricultural base to it and cannabis is an agricultural-based product.”
Colusa currently has developer agreements with six cannabis companies in operation, including three downtown and two at Colusa Industrial Properties.
The City Council will have final approval of the three developer agreements approved by the Planning Commission on April 13.
In addition to the three, Cain said two other agreements are in the works.
The Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for April 27 to consider a developer agreement with Mike Olivas for the proposed Triple Crown Cannabis Research and Development Business Park, located on 84 acres on East Clay.
The Triple Crown project would consist of cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, nursery, research and development, and distribution.
Developer agreements issued to Big Moon Sky and CTI are no longer valid, he said. ■