The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Potential marijuana grow operation included in the plans
by Olivia Lueckemeyer
A work session to discuss the construction of a multi-tenant commercial facility on Lot 4 of Riverland Industrial Park was held by the county Planning Commission on Friday, June 3.
The applicant, John Nichols of Crested Butte Mobile Mix Concrete, is proposing a minor impact project to construct an 18,800-sq.-ft., two-story, multi-tenant facility for indoor vehicle parking, storage and a possible marijuana growing operation.
“Originally we envisioned the building to park our trucks inside; it gets so hard with all of the water and chemicals on our trucks that it makes it a lot easier to park inside and not let them freeze in the spring or fall,” Nichols explained to the commission. “In terms of tenants, a couple of guys who grow commercial marijuana have expressed interest in renting space there.”
Assistant director of community development Neal Starkebaum described the work session as “straightforward,” stating that the Planning Commission reviewed the application, including questions about building height and water supply/fire suppression requirements.
Commission member Kent Fulton expressed his concern about the height of the building and how much would be visible from Highway 135. Nichols assured the board that the height of the building would comply with the Riverland property owners association regulation of no more than 24 visible feet.
In terms of suppressing potential fires, Riverland is exempt from certain requirements of the Crested Butte Fire Protection District. The building will not include a sprinkler system, but instead Nichols plans to implement a three-hour rated firewall. For water, Nichols explained that if he exceeds the amount provided by Riverland Industrial Park central water system, he already has an additional supply through Long Lake.
“More than 10 years ago when we were going through the process for Whetstone Business Park, we bought 33 additional units of water from Long Lake,” Nichols explained. “I own a third of that so I have another 11 units of water, so if I needed to buy water I already own it.”
In a letter of approval for the project, Danny D’Aquila of the Riverland board of directors stated that Nichols has worked with the Industrial Park to “make possible the construction of the new Riverland south entrance by donating the northeast corner of Lot 4 and paying out of pocket to bury power lines along the highway.”
“By doing so the new Riverland south entrance and Lot 4 application are substantially improved for the Highway 135 corridor,” D’Aquila’s letter stated.
A public hearing for the proposal is scheduled for June 17 in Crested Butte.
