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Commission approves variance for Cannabis Club LLC to operate retail dispensary at 5641 Bloomfield Highway
Summary
The commission granted a lifetime variance from the county cannabis ordinance’s residence-separation rule after a hearing officer recommended approval and staff reported no resident objections.
San Juan County commissioners voted to approve a variance allowing Cannabis Club LLC to operate a retail cannabis dispensary at 5641 Bloomfield Highway in Farmington, waiving the ordinance’s minimum separation-from-residence requirement.
Michelle Tribitelan, San Juan County Community Development director, summarized the application and staff recommendation. She said Benjamin and Marlene Nunez, co-owners of Cannabis Club LLC, applied Aug. 7, 2025, seeking a variance from Section 3A of San Juan County Ordinance 120 (the minimum separation distance from a residence requirement). Tribitelan told the commission the structure had previously been granted a manufacturing variance on April 16, 2024, and that the proposed retail operation is accessed directly from Bloomfield Highway and is separated from the nearest residences by a privacy fence and trees. "Staff recommends approval based on there being no objection from the impacted residents," she said.
Hearing officer T. Ryan Lane held a public hearing on Sept. 3, 2025; Tribitelan and the hearing officer reported no written or in-person opposition before or during the hearing and that no residents attended. Lane recommended granting the variance, citing (1) that approval would not be contrary to the intent of Ordinance 120, (2) the structure’s prior variance for manufacturing, (3) the property’s prior use as a liquor establishment, and (4) the facility’s primary access from Bloomfield Highway rather than from the adjacent residential neighborhood.
A commissioner moved and a second was recorded; commissioners voted verbally, "All in favor. Any opposition? Hearing none, motion carries." The commission’s vote granted the variance for the life of the business at that location.
Why it matters: the variance allows a retail cannabis business to operate closer than the ordinance’s usual residence-separation requirement in a location staff and the hearing officer found did not unduly affect nearby residences.
Implementation notes: the county will update its permit records to reflect the granted variance; any conditions or enforcement requirements would follow under Ordinance 120 and county permitting practice.
