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Torrance County upholds denial of proposed commercial cannabis greenhouse
Summary
County commissioners upheld Planning & Zoning's denial of Quick Grow LLC's conditional-use permit after neighboring residents raised unresolved concerns about odor control, water use, lighting, traffic and enforcement; the board found mitigation measures insufficient.
The Torrance County Board of County Commissioners voted Nov. 13 to uphold the Planning & Zoning Board's denial of a conditional-use permit for a proposed commercial greenhouse and cannabis operation near Akin Farm Road.
The applicant's agent, Feng Ping Chen, presented revised site plans and materials from an odor-control vendor, Ecosorb/Ecolab, saying the company's system achieves "98.7% of the odor being eliminated." Neighbors and nearby landowners repeatedly disputed those claims, saying the proposed cluster of eight 6,000-square-foot metal buildings and associated activity would burden local roads, groundwater and public safety.
Opponents described both practical and regulatory gaps. Resident Todd Smyth argued the operation would convert agricultural land into a commercial business with lighting and infrastructure "that shouldn't be in that area," and raised doubts that air-filtration systems could be guaranteed to control odor. Hailey Love-Melcheck and John Humphreys cited emergency-access, traffic and solid-waste concerns and said local disposal services do not have capacity to accept large volumes of plant waste.
Applicant Chen told the commission the operation would allow county inspection and would "implement all the motion detectors and lighting systems" and use licensed odor-control products and standard fire-protection measures; he also said the applicant would not expand the operation beyond the warehouses proposed at this time. Chen said, "We are not going to put up more warehouses. In the last meeting, we already promised we would stop right here."
After hearing testimony from more than a dozen neighbors and public-safety questions from commissioners, Chair Ryan Schwebach said he was not satisfied "that the adverse effects of this proposal will be mitigated," and moved to uphold the Planning & Zoning denial. The motion carried with two votes in favor and one abstention by Commissioner Samuel Schropp due to recusal.
What happens next: the applicant may pursue further appeals under county procedures. Commissioners also discussed moving forward with changes to the county zoning code to tighten rules for commercial greenhouses and to pursue separate ordinances or enforcement steps addressing solid-waste handling and road impacts.
Sources: public hearing testimony and Planning & Zoning materials presented at the Nov. 13 meeting. The applicants and opponents offered conflicting technical claims; county action was limited to what was in the record and the board's assessment of likely local impacts.
