COLUSA, CA (MPG) – A Winters developer faced with almost insurmountable pressure from Colusa citizens not to build a cannabis park on East Clay Street may get an opportunity to move the facility to another location.
The City Council gave the green light last week for City Manager Jesse Cain and City Engineer David Swartz to enter talks with Mike Olivas, the property owner, about a possible land swap of his 84-acre vacant property, which is nestled up against the Sacramento River levee, for city-owned property out by the wastewater treatment plant.
Although the actual location of the potential site was not disclosed at the Nov. 21 meeting, city officials have been open to the public’s suggestions that the city consider an exchange of land that could potentially solve two needs: moving industrial cannabis operations to a largely unpopulated environment and building a sports complex for soccer and baseball closer to the population that will use it.
The City of Colusa owns about 260 acres of vacant land in the vicinity of the wastewater treatment plant, which is located off Will S. Green Road on the outskirts of town, close to a state highway. In 2021, city officials earmarked a portion of the acreage for “Field of Dreams,” a multiuse recreational facility to serve the citizens of the Colusa.
Cain and Swartz said they have a general idea of what needs to be done to accomplish a property swap but asked for about 90 days to work out details for multiple options before they bring any proposal to the City Council, which will include scenarios, strategies, and associated costs.
“There are a lot of different options that we can consider and what they might look like,” Swartz said.
Property Owner Mike Olivas, whose initial proposal for a housing project on the East Clay was also met with fierce opposition, is open to the idea of exchanging locations.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do for the city and what it can do for our project,” Olivas said.
The council’s consensus to consider a land swap came after the City Council
approved a developer agreement with Colusa Farms Pomona Rio and Riverbend Estates, at their Nov. 21 meeting, and granted them a conditional use permit to develop a 32-acre cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and research project on East Clay Street.
The project, originally proposed as Triple Crown, had recently been scaled down from what the developers originally proposed, including the elimination of outdoor greenhouses.
City officials said the approval of the conditional use permit does not mean the project is clear for construction, but simply allows the developer to move forward with engineering steps that could determine if the project can meet all the conditions of approval, including compliance with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and other measures that could avoid or mitigate the potential environmental effects of the project.
Neighbors of the property have long been critical of large-scare development
at that site, largely because of drainage issues and water seepage from the levee, which they fear could negatively impact their septic tanks, water wells, and property.
Janis Bell, who lives adjacent to the Olivas’ property, said she appreciated the
council listening to the public and being amenable to an alternative solution.
“The people have been screaming loud enough and some really good ideas
are now coming to fruition,” she said.
Colusa Mayor Greg Ponciano said he believes a land swap would be good for
both parties.
“I think it’s worth pursuing,” Ponciano said.