City Council approves Fireworx Farms for cannabis cultivation in Colfax

The Colfax City Council approved the city manager to issue a commercial cannabis cultivation business permit to Fireworx Farms, LLC in a split vote during its Feb. 24 meeting. The decision followed Fireworx Farms receiving a score of 95.22 percent, from third-party reviewer SCI Consulting Group, on its application submitted to the city of Colfax. According to the staff report, this was the only application received for commercial cannabis cultivation, which would be the first in Colfax. A public hearing Jan. 27 to consider the item was continued to Feb. 24 to allow time for the applicant to address concerns regarding water supply at the proposed Colfax site and for a tour of the company's cultivation facility in Sacramento. Fireworx Farms provided the city with an email from the Placer County Water Agency confirming there is enough water to accommodate the required 7,500 gallons of water per day for operations. A 2-inch meter will be installed and will provide 9,200 gallons of water to the company's operations, leaving a remainder of 616,400 gallons for Colfax residents. Additionally, Colfax Mayor Sean Lomen, Councilmember Dr. Joe Fatula and Mary Fatula toured the Sacramento facility and Colfax property on Feb. 8. During the meeting, Councilmember Fatula provided a summary of the tours, stating concerns that arose from touring the Sacramento facility: Odor control due to experiencing a strong smell two to three blocks away from the facility. Light pollution due to bright lighting in the grow rooms and the company's practice of keeping the lights on a cycle of 12 hours on and 12 hours off, or a cycle of 20 hours on and four hours off when attempting to get the plants to flower. Housekeeping throughout and around the facility due to finding potted plants behind the facility. Fire safety due to finding three gasoline containers laying on their sides outside the facility, with one being half full. Councilmember Fatula also confirmed these concerns were applicable to the Colfax site due to residences being within 400 feet of the property. He also noted a homeless encampment, a mattress, abandoned vehicles, including one with a propane tank laying on its side, boards with exposed nails and an abandoned refrigerator were found on the property. Lomen confirmed the summary, stating he was "surprised at the condition of the property right now." "We weren't aware that there was anyone that went to the property to look," Caity Maple, vice president of government affairs and compliance with Fireworx Farms, said during the meeting. "We do realize that there are some issues with the property. We bought it two years ago, approximately, but it's been vacant for about eight years, as I understand it. This is our proposal to improve the property. And so we're happy to address any specific concerns that you have, but this is our plan to make it better and we hope that we're able to do that." Councilmember Marnie Mendoza expressed concerns about the city's natural resources and how Fireworx Farms would ensure runoff would not go into local streams. Angelica Sanchez, project lead and director of government affairs and compliance with Fireworx Farms, confirmed the company would pursue California Environmental Quality Agency approval before beginning operations and that regulatory agencies would ensure guideline compliance in regard to water and water disposal. "We went ahead and we engaged a company called HyperLogic, which specializes in recycling and the reclamation of runoff water," Sanchez said. "They do this by installing a recirculatory hydroponic system, which works to filter and reclaim water for irrigation, which results in 75-80 percent recovery of water. So while we do have the meter with PCWA, we do plan on recycling the water that we do use." The proposed site, located at 1401 Highway 174 in Colfax, would be a 20,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility that would house eight enclosed greenhouses and feature an odor mitigation system and would employ 18-20 full-time staff, 90 percent of whom would be Colfax residents. According to Sanchez, the property currently has two structures: a 1,700-square-foot single-story structure that will serve as the drying room where cultivated cannabis will be hung and dried, and a 2,550-square-foot single-story structure that will be utilized as the processing room where cannabis will be weighed, trimmed, packaged and stored. "We'd love to bring a compliant, state-of-the-art cultivation facility and provide really good-paying jobs with benefits," Sanchez said in an interview with the Auburn Journal before the Feb. 24 meeting. "We're a proven company with a track record of investing in the communities that we are in, every jurisdiction that we operate." Fireworx Farms is part of a company that holds state licenses for cultivation, distribution and eight retail locations, including two in Sacramento and one in Marysville. Sanchez confirmed Fireworx Farms plans to work closely with organizations such as Colfax Green Machine, First 5 Placer and Friends of the Colfax Theatre. "Our goal is to help make the city of Colfax a better place to live, work and thrive," she said during the January meeting. "We will use our resources to help improve the local landscape through community-based projects and local funding opportunities, as well as partner with local charities and nonprofit organizations to provide support and funding for projects through grants and volunteerism. We look forward to partnering with the city and learning how we can best contribute." Councilmember David Ackerman and Mayor Pro Tem Trinity Burruss shared their viewpoints regarding approving the cultivation permit during council discussion. "I just find it hard to believe that after all the energy and the money to date the applicant has spent trying to appease us, and also just meet regulation and parameters and just be a good neighbor, et cetera, I just don't know how we wouldn't, after all again taking all the pros and cons in consideration, allowing this permit to be issued," Ackerman said. Said Burruss, "I would prefer that if we were going to issue a license, I would feel very comfortable issuing it to a company like Fireworx Farms that has the experience to back them and is willing to take on the stipulations that we're putting in place, and is willing to comply and be flexible. And so where I would stand today is that I would say I'm in support of issuing this license with conditions and just being very clear that we want to make sure there's measures in place to control light pollution, we expect the property to be cleaned up within a reasonable amount of time and we would expect that, especially if water is going to be trucked in and out, we would expect that that road's going to be paved to accommodate. But you know as long as we've listed out what our concerns are and what stipulations we are asking for them to meet, I feel at this point, having been one of the people that wrote this ordinance (Ordinance 542) and said this looks good and voted yes on it, I feel like given the scoring sheet and the information I have today, it would be unethical for me to vote no on this license." The council received eight public comments in support of the permit approval and four in opposition. The council voted to move forward with issuing the license to Fireworx Farms with the motion passing 3-2. Lomen and Fatula submitted nay votes. The license will be valid for one year upon issuance. "We're excited and looking forward to building a state-of-the-art cultivation facility," Sanchez said in an interview with the Journal on Monday, following the council's decision. "We're happy that the city council voted to approve our project." According to Sanchez, the company's goal is to have construction completed and its state license issued in the next six months. Sanchez said the company plans to begin hiring and training in September and hopes to be operating in Colfax in September or early October. Sanchez also said Fireworx Farms is "looking forward to employing the residents of Colfax," noting the company will provide full-time positions starting at $17 per hour, with benefits.