| Photo: Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce |
| The historic California Theatre in downtown Dunsmuir, Calif., may have a new neighbor — a marijuana nursery — on Dunsmuir Avenue if Mayor Peter Arth has his way. |
The mayor of Dunsmuir, California has proposed the establishment of a medical marijuana nursery in the downtown area.
The proposal was brought to city officials by Mayor Peter Arth Jr., who plans to finance the project, along with Green Collar Compassionate Collective owner Leslie Wilde, who will lease the nursery in order to harvest medical marijuana for her patient members, reports Ami Ridling of Mt. Shasta News.
Arth and Wilde are applying for a historic site alteration permit for the facility, and will present their plans to the Dunsmuir Planning Commission in May.
The planned medical marijuana nursery site is on three commercially zoned lots, owned by Mayor Arth, and located at the corner of Dunsmuir Avenue and Cedar Street downtown.
According to Arth’s draft, this location is ideal due to existing street lighting, high visibility, “and its close proximity to the sheriff’s substation.”
The mayor plans to buy three small prefabricated greenhouses and pay for their installation on the lots. The lots will be equipped with a security system, surrounded by fencing, and will be accessible through locked gates.
According to Arth, the nursery will rely on solar energy, as well as existing electric service for lighting, climate control, and security features.
Arth plans to lease the property to Wilde, who, along with a board of directors, will oversee the operations of the marijuana nursery. Only people authorized by the board will be allowed inside, and nobody under 21 will be admitted.
The mayor noted that marijuana will grown organically at the nursery. The project coordinators plan to be leaders in the environmentally sound propagation and growth of the safest and highest quality medical cannabis in Siskiyou County.
In the event of odor complaints, Arth indicated a system of fans and carbon filters could be installed in the greenhouses to address the problem.
In order to make the nursery fencing aesthetically pleasing, Arth plans to work with the Dunsmuir Garden Club to plant a mixture of colorful flowers and climbing plants around the fence area and the frontage of the property.
“We actively seek a review of this project because it is a new approach to a growing problem across California’s cities — large and small,” Mayor Arth said.