Creston residents do not want a cannabis grow operation less than a quarter mile from their town and on Wednesday, they made that clear.
More than 75 residents gathered at the Creston Community Church in front of the Advisory Body to express concerns the operation may bring.
The 4,000 square-foot, three facility operation would grow, process and manufacture cannabis. All of it would be done indoors.
Those who live in the area have taken umbrage with what they call a lack of transparency.
Several concerns include safety, traffic, location and environmental impacts. The operation address is listed as 6447 Webster Rd., just slightly south of the small town. Another concern is the smell.
“It grows that quickly and it is cut down that quickly and harvested that quickly, so it is constantly in bloom and for that reason there is an odor that permeates all the time,” resident Michelle Wortner said. “Even the most advanced system for removing odor, they don’t completely work and so to have it this close to a town is just kind of untenable.”
The co-owner of the land and project, Daniel Maldonado, promised the odor would be eliminated. No sales would take place at the facility.
Maldonado couldn’t answer some questions lobbed by residents and other times was on the receiving end of their ire. Several made it clear they were upset with the fact Creston was chosen for the operation instead of another California location.
The application was submitted to San Luis Obispo County for review earlier this month. It has not been accepted for processing as it is within the initial 30-day review period.
The Atascadero Unified School District strongly opposes the project. The local school is 1,200 feet away from the facility’s footprint. County regulations state a marijuana facility must be at least 1,000 feet from an educational building.
You can read the application here.
