Cottage Grove approves conditional-use permit for LeafLine Labs with odor-mitigation conditions

The Cottage Grove City Council on April 16 approved a conditional‑use permit allowing LeafLine Labs to operate as a medical cannabis combination business at 90 Seventh Street South, with conditions tied to odor mitigation and monitoring.

City staff said the company’s operations and facility footprint will not change under the permit but that the business is transitioning to state licensing created for adult‑use cannabis. Samantha Perret, a city planner, told the council the state’s Office of Cannabis Management has adopted rules and that the company must meet local and state standards; she noted “condition number 4 is an odor mitigation plan that the city and the applicant will be working through. There's a 45 day timeline for them to get that into us as staff.”

The ordinance change followed state action that created new license types and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Perret said LeafLine currently operates under a prior medical license and that statute under which it operates will be repealed Dec. 1, 2025; the company applied to OCM for a medical‑combination license and is awaiting the state review process. Perret said OCM began accepting applications March 14, 2025, and will issue preliminary approvals; successful applicants then have 18 months to finish local approvals, final state licensure and inspections.

LeafLine has been operating on the site under prior conditional permits (2014, amended 2020 and 2022). The company has been the subject of odor complaints since a 2022 building expansion. Perret and the applicant told the council the company has hired Bayer Scientific to analyze on‑site odor controls and has begun implementing immediate mitigation measures while planning longer‑term filtration upgrades.

Carol Moss, an attorney for the applicant, told the council: “Our operations are not changing. Our products are not changing, our processing, our manufacturing, nothing is changing. All it is is the end result. The products can also be sold recreational or to medical patients.” Moss said LeafLine has already implemented immediate recommendations from the consultant and is working with city staff to address outstanding odor concerns.

Council members pressed for detail on monitoring and remediation. A LeafLine representative described a daily monitoring regimen using a device the company and staff called a “nasal ranger,” and said the company will record daily readings and provide weekly reports to the city. The company also said some filtration and abatement equipment is custom built and may take eight to 10 months to deliver and install; shorter‑term changes to rooftop ventilation and other operations have already reduced odor releases, the company said.

The council approved the permit by voice vote after a motion by Councilmember Garza and a second by Councilmember Bethedi. The motion rescinded prior conditional‑use permits and site plan resolutions and approved the new conditional‑use permit allowing LeafLine to be licensed as a medical cannabis combination business at 90 Seventh Street South, subject to the conditions in the resolution.

City staff and the applicant said the resolution requires a working odor‑mitigation plan, routine monitoring, and information‑sharing with the city so staff can respond to complaints and verify mitigation progress. Council members and staff said they will review submitted monitoring data and the applicant’s mitigation timetable as part of ongoing compliance oversight.