A two-story, 91,000-square-foot building for growing young cannabis plants and later manufacturing, processing, storing and distributing the product sailed through the Lompoc Planning Commission approval process.
The Organic Liberty Cannabis Project proposed for 3.8 acres at 1025 and 1035 W. Central Ave. is the second similar facility approved by commissioners in three weeks.
Commissioners voted 3-1 last week to approve several matters related to the project, with Chairman Federico Cioni absent from the meeting. Commissioner Dan Badertscher voted against the item without comment as he did with the prior project.
The first floor of the structure would contain the main office areas and break rooms for employees, as well as the manufacturing and processing facilities. The second floor would be primarily used for the nursery, with additional storage facilities and offices.
The business expects to hire 65 full-time employees and 15 part-time employees during peak periods.
Organic Liberty’s facility would sell only cannabis products, which include artisanal cannabis bud, bulk cannabis bud, pre-rolled cannabis joints and oil extract, to state-licensed businesses on a wholesale basis. No retail sales would occur on site.
An 8-foot-tall fence would surround the site.
Jordan Main, a land use consultant for the applicant, told commissioners that the Oct. 13 meeting culminated two years of efforts.
“This one provides the basic building blocks for the supply chain,” Main said. “At a start, the facility will produce immature plants at the nursery that will be taken to off-site locations, off-farms where they will be grown to full term and harvested.”
The material would be brought back to the facility for processing to produce a range of products to supply licensed retail and wholesale customers.
“This is not a dispensary or open to the public,” Main said. “This only to services licensed facilities.”
One big difference from a similar project that commissioners approved last month is that Organic Liberty won’t have mature plants, or those in the flowering phase that generates the smell associated with cultivation.
“No flowers here in the nursery means no odor associated with the nursery,” Main said.
While the project received planning commission approval, the applicant still must go through the city’s separate process to get its cannabis license.
Lompoc’s leaders voted against setting any limits for the new industry, leading to multiple dispensaries opening in the city.
Last month, planning commissioners approved a different cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and processing facility.
The Mustang Lompoc Investors LLC one-story facility is proposed for 3 acres at 1501 North O St. plus 801 and 851 Cordoba Ave. within the city’s business park zone. The three vacant lots sit along North O Street between Cordoba Avenue and Aviation Drive.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.