BEND, OR -- Deschutes County Commissioners appear poised to deny the application for a marijuana processing facility proposed for just west of Redmond. Recreational pot businesses are prohibited inside Redmond's Urban Growth Boundary.
During yesterday’s lengthy deliberations, Commissioners Tammy Baney and Phil Henderson expressed concern with the Highway 126 location. Baney said, "We have the entire City Council saying ‘this is in the proximity of where we intend to grow. This is not an area that we want to have commercial/industrial-type activities.’ Within an area that is really surrounded, actually, by 'multiple-use agricultural 10' lands, which would all require a conditional use permit; so this is kind of that last outlier property." She added, "This is a large commercial activity that is happening in an area that is directly adjacent to a community and directly adjacent to uses that are not similar. And, I’m not opposed to the production. It is: this needs to be very tight, in terms of an application and I feel that there are deficiencies in it."
Commissioner Henderson took issue with proposed odor and noise mitigation systems, as well as the amount of traffic the operation could bring to the area. County staff say it could bring as many as 96 trips per day, which Commissioners point out is significantly higher than the current single-family residential use of the property.
Commissioner Tony DeBone supports the application but said he would only approve it with additional conditions. There was no formal vote; however, if they do deny the proposal, the applicant can appeal.
