Planning & Zoning

AGENDA Planning & Zoning Commission City Council Chambers – 800 Municipal Drive July 28, 2022 - 3:00 p.m. Item 1 Call Meeting to Order 2 Approval of the Agenda 3 Approval of the Minutes of the July 14, 2022 P&Z Meeting 4 PETITION NO. SUP 22-55 – a Special Use Permit for an integrated cannabis facility at 738 W. Main St, including production, manufacturing and cultivation. 5 DISCUSSION regarding the draft Housing Snapshot Plan 6 DISUSSION regarding Wildland Urban Interface 8 Business From Floor: Chairman: Members: Staff: 9 Adjournment ATTENTION PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES The meeting room and facilities are fully accessible to persons with mobility disabilities. If you plan to attend a meeting and need an auxiliary aid or service, please contact the City Clerk's office at 599-1101 or 599-1106, prior to the meeting so arrangements can be made.  Minutes Planning & Zoning Commission July 14, 2022 The Planning & Zoning Commission met in a regular session on July 14, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 800 Municipal Drive, Farmington, New Mexico. P&Z Members Present: Vice Chair Clint Freeman Cheryl Ragsdale Gary Hanson Clete Berens Ryan Brown P&Z Members Absent: Chair Joyce Cardon Cody Waldroup Shay Davis Gary Smouse Staff Present: Beth Escobar Tami Spencer Others Who Addressed the Commission: Gary Powers Jasen Peacock Anthony Montoya Call to Order Vice Chair Clint Freeman called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. There being a quorum present the following proceedings were duly had and taken. Approval of the Agenda Item #4 Open Meetings Resolution – 2022 was removed the agenda. A motion was made by Commissioner Berens and seconded by Commissioner Ragsdale to approve the agenda of the July 14, 2022 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. This motion passed unanimously by a 5- 0 vote. 1 Approval of the Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Ragsdale and seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve the minutes of the June 16, 2022 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. This motion passed unanimously by a 5-0 vote. Swearing of Witnesses Tami Spencer, Administrative Assistant swore in all parties that wished to speak. PETITION NO. SUP 22-48 – Discussion & possible action regarding a request for a Special Use Permit to allow for an integrated cannabis facility. Cultivation will begin immediately, retail sales at a later date, and possible manufacturing/production in the future. Located at 1512 W. Murray Dr. Planning Manager Beth Escobar presented the following: Petition • Applicant: Sky High Farms • Representative: Jasen Peacock • Location: 1512 Murray Ave • Existing Zoning: IND: Industrial • Request: SUP to allow for cultivation, production and manufacturing of adult cannabis • Retail sales, a permitted use, may be conducted on site at a future date. • Per the petitioner’s business plan, Sky High Farms will focus on cultivation of small batch marijuana. Zoning 2 Aerial Map Street View 3  SUPs • The purpose of a Special Use Permit is to allow for discretionary approval of uses with unique operating characteristics. • Per Ordinance No. 2021-1329, adopted by City Council on October 12, 2021, retail sales of adult cannabis are permitted by right in the Industrial Zoning District. • The manufacturing, production and cultivation of cannabis in the General Commercial Zoning District requires a Special Use Permit. UDC 8.9. A. Special Use Permits: • Special use permit approvals attach to the property and are transferable to subsequent owners. • If this SUP was approved, it could transfer to another owner, carrier or tenant. Staff Analysis • A cannabis cultivation facility seems appropriate for this location. This location is situated in an area with several heavy industrial uses. • Staff will work with the business owner to provide the State required letter of water adequacy. The applicant will work with Jacobs, the City’s wastewater contractor, to ensure no damage occurs to the wastewater system. • Consistent with the 2040 Future Land Use designation of Commercial Mixed Use. Public Notice • Letters were sent to seven surrounding property owners. At the time of this report, no public input has been received. Staff Recommendation The Community Works Department recommends approval of Petition SUP 22-48, a request from Jasen Peacock of Sky High Farms for cultivation, production and manufacturing of cannabis at an existing building located at 1512 Murray Ave., with the following stipulations: 1. A City of Farmington business registration will be required. 2. A building/fire inspection shall be required. 3. A building permit shall be required for any remodeling. 4. Prior to opening of the business, one ADA van accessible parking spot shall be installed. Staff is recommending the SUP be good for ten years. 4  Discussion Vice Chair Freeman asked Planning Manager Escobar about the 10-year limitation. Ms. Escobar replied it is consistent with previous SUP’s, if the Commission feels it should be approved for longer, you can recommend a different time period. She also explained the SUP may be renewed and it would be brought back to P&Z for approval. Jasen Peacock, 1044 Road 3000, Farmington NM, 87401 Mr. Peacock pointed out the property lines for this property and went over his business plan for the Commission. Vice Chair Freeman asked Mr. Peacock if there were plans to expand the building. Mr. Peacock answered they are planning to expand in the future; they would like to have up to 1000 plants. Until then they will be using the current building. Mr. Peacock also explained they would be trucking in their own water; therefor they would not be using City water. They would also be using solar power with back up generators. Commissioner Brown inquired about security. Mr. Peacock explained they would be following all Cannabis Control Division (CCD) requirements and adding their own upgrades. Commissioner Brown also asked when they expected to have retail sales at that location. Mr. Peacock replied it would be late next summer to either start manufacturing or retail sales. Commissioner Ragsdale asked Mr. Peacock how many people he would employ. He replied there would be up to six to start, and as they add more containers, they would employ four more people per container. Commissioner Brown asked why they picked this location on Murray Dr. Mr. Peacock answered they had looked at other locations, which all fell through for one reason or another. He also explained the Murray Dr. property fit with what they were looking for. Gary Powers, 2015 Zuni Dr., Farmington NM, 87401 Mr. Powers stated this property is in a family trust, which his sister is the trustee of and of which he is a beneficiary.. Mr. Powers stated this was his parent’s property and he feels they would not approve of this use. He also wanted to know after the trucked in water was used, how it would be disposed of. Mr. Powers stated he personally did not approve of anything that has to do with drugs. Mr. Peacock addressed the question on the disposal of the water. He stated there is no run off. Anthony Montoya, 1611 Hwy 170, La Plata NM, 87418 Mr. Montoya explained he owned the vacant property across the ditch, to the north of 1512 W. Murray Dr. Mr. Montoya is worried about the odor that comes with growing cannabis. He also stated he is against drugs, and is worried about the customers who come to these kinds of places. Mr. Montoya was also worried this kind of business would bring in more transients and vandals to the area, and he would have a hard time developing his property in the future. Vice 5 Chair asked Mr. Montoya if he knew how he wanted to develop his property. Mr. Montoya stated he would like to have business property rentals. Mr. Peacock addressed Mr. Montoya’s concern regarding the odor. He stated that each 10x40 Conex Container, would have two, triple carbon filters per unit. That would be inside a barrier, inside a building with an odor filter on top of that. This should control up to 90% of the odor. With no further public input, Vice Chair Freeman closed the public portion of the meeting. Commission Discussion Commissioner Brown asked Planning Manager Escobar what the standards are for odor control. Planning Manager Escobar stated the City has a nuisance ordinance, but unlike the noise ordinance which is measured in decibels, there is no way to measure odor, so if your neighbors complain about an odor it must be addressed. She added, as with any complaint, Code Enforcement will reach out to the owner of the business and try to address modifications or accommodations. If those are not done, it becomes a citation, which would go to court. Commissioner Hanson asked Ms. Escobar if any future expansion would require the applicant to go through the SUP process again. Ms. Escobar replied yes it would. She also stated if the Commission recommends this petition move forward for approval to City Council, she would reach out to the applicant for a final development plan, and before the Council hears this, the petition would be republished to encompass everything. Otherwise, the SUP would be restricted to what was applied for, which is interior to the existing building. Commissioner Berens asked Ms. Escobar in regards to the transient activity around the cannabis facilities, has the police department increased patrols in these areas. Ms. Escobar replied the City of Farmington Police Department has formed a Cannabis Taskforce focusing on this industry segment to monitor impact to the Community, which includes any criminal activity. She added the security required for these facilities can dissuades most activity. Commissioner Hanson added he would prefer to keep this application to the original tract to see how it progresses before encompassing a substantially larger tract. He would like to make sure things evolve the way they are supposed to. With no further discussion, Vice Chair Freeman called for a motion. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown to approve SUP 22-48 as presented by staff with the clarification that any expansion would have to go through an additional SUP process, and seconded by Commissioner Ragsdale. The motion carried 5-0. Wireless Communications Facilities Discussion: Planning Manager Escobar started this discussion came about after the wireless facility application at 2400 Hutton Ave. Ms. Escobar provided some regulations from Roswell NM, and 6 Sedona AZ. A discussion was had regarding the different regulations between these two locations. It was agreed the City Ordinance should not be changed. Cannabis Discussion: Planning Manager Escobar reminded the Commission they had already approved an SUP for a testing lab; there are 12 total retail facilities licenses in the city. Some of the approved SUP’s are starting to bring in their building permits. City Council did have the first reading of changes to the ordinance to require waivers and variances to go through P&Z and Council. You will have your first application at your August 11, 2022 meeting, for a waiver to a 300-foot distance to another facially, located on Broadway Ave. Business from the Floor: There was no business from the floor. Business from the Chair: There was no business from the Chair Business from the Members: There was no business from Members. Business from Staff: There was no business from Staff. Adjournment: With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Berens and seconded by Commissioner Ragsdale. The motion carried unanimously 5-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 4:13 p.m. _______________________________ _________________________________ Joyce Cardon Tami Spencer Chair Administrative Assistant 7 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 8  COMMUNITY WORKS PETITION REPORT Petition SUP 22-55 – Integrated Cannabis Facility at 738 W. Main Street A. STAFF REPORT, July 28, 2022 PROJECT INFORMATION Applicant Christopher Richardson Representative N/A Date of Application June 30, 2022 Requested Action A Special Use Permit for an integrated cannabis facility including cultivation, production and manufacturing. Location 738 W. Main Street Existing Land Use Commercial Existing Zoning GC: General Commercial Surrounding Zoning & North: GC: General Commercial - Commercial sales and service Land Use South: GC: General Commercial – Commercial sales and service East: GC: General Commercial - Grocery store West: GC: General Commercial - Commercial sales and service Notice Requirements Publication of Notice: July 13, 2022, Farmington Daily Times Property owners letter: July 7, 2022 Sign posted: July 18, 2022 Staff Planner Colby Gibson, Associate Planner STAFF ANALYSIS Background The subject property is owned by Joshua Paulos of Dahms Investments LLC who is leasing the property to the applicant. The property at 738 W. Main is zoned GC: General Commercial. The property leased by the applicant is in fact two separate parcels of land, however they are adjacent to each other. There is an existing 1,200 square foot building on the 0.56-acre property. The applicant is requesting a Special Use Permit to allow for a cannabis micro-producer business on the property. Per UDC 2.4.69 & 2.4.71 (A) the cultivation, manufacturing and production of cannabis are permitted in GC: General Commercial Zoning District with a SUP. In addition, the petitioner plans to engage in retail sales of the cannabis, which is permitted in the GC Zoning District. 9  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility Zoning 10  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility Aerial Map Zoomed Out 11  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility Aerial Map Zoomed In 12  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility Unified Development Code – Section 2.4.69 (A) This section of the UDC allows for cannabis manufacturing and production with a Special Use Permit The manufacturing and production of Cannabis and Cannabidiol (CBD) products is permitted in the Rural Agricultural, General Commercial, and Industrial Zoning Districts with a Special Use Permit. Unified Development Code – Section 2.4.71 (A) This section of the UDC allows for commercial cannabis cultivation with a Special Use Permit. The planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading or trimming of cannabis for commercial use is permitted in the General Commercial, Planned Industrial Park, and Industrial Zoning Districts by Special Use Permit. UDC 8.9. A. Special Use Permits: The purpose of a Special Use Permit is to allow for discretionary approval of uses with unique operating characteristics. A. Special use permit approvals attach to the property and are transferable to subsequent owners. This SUP, if approved could transfer to another owner, carrier or tenant. Special Use Permit Criteria – Section 8.9.4 of the UDC Section 8.9.4 of the UDC sets forth the criteria for review of a special use permit. The section states that a SUP may be approved where it is reasonably determined that there will be no significant negative impact upon residents of surrounding property or upon the public. The criteria for approval is listed as follows: A. Effect on environment: The location, size, design, and operation characteristics of the proposed use shall not be detrimental to the health, welfare, and safety of the surrounding neighborhood or its occupants and shall not be substantially or permanently injurious to the neighboring property. The proposed business should not be detrimental to health and safety in the surrounding area. B. Compatible with surrounding area: The proposed site plan, circulation plan, and schematic architectural designs shall be harmonious with the character of the surrounding area with relationship to scale, height, landscaping and screening and density. The business will be compatible with the surrounding commercial and industrial uses. There are no plans to make any substantial changes to the exterior of the property at this time. 13  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility C. External impacts minimized: The proposed use shall not have negative impacts on existing uses in the area and in the city through the creation of noise, glare, fumes, dust, smoke, vibration, fire hazard, or other injurious or noxious impact. The applicant shall provide adequate mitigation responses to the impacts. Staff will work with the business owner to provide the State required letter of water adequacy. The applicant will work with Jacobs, the City’s wastewater contractor, to ensure no damage occurs to the wastewater system. The applicant will incorporate industry best practices to mitigate noise and odors. D. Infrastructure impacts minimized: The proposed use shall not have negative impacts on existing uses in the area and in the city through impacts on public infrastructure such as roads, parking facilities and water and sewer systems, and on public services such as police and fire protection and solid waste collection, and the ability of existing infrastructure and services to provide services adequately. Per NMAC 16.8.2.10 A, a monitored alarm system and digital video surveillance system will be required for the facility. The alarm system must be able to provide an alert to a designated employee and, if necessary, law enforcement, within 5 minutes after a notification of an alarm. E. Consistent with the UDC and Comprehensive Plan: The proposed use will be consistent with purposes of this UDC, the Comprehensive Plan, and any other statutes, ordinances or policies that may be applicable, and will support rather than interfere with the uses otherwise permitted in the zone in which it is located. The property location conforms to UDC section 2.4.71 (C) which states that the establishment shall not be permitted within 300 feet of any school, religious institution, registered daycare center, dispensary or other commercial cultivation site. The Comprehensive Plan’s 2040 Future Land Use Map recommends the subject area as “Downtown” designed to consist of a mix of historic buildings and newer construction with access to transit and pedestrian connections. 14  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility F. Parcel size: The proposed use may be required to have additional land area, in excess of the minimum lot area otherwise required by the underlying zoning district, as necessary to ensure adequate mitigation of impacts on surrounding land uses and the zoning district. The subject property is 0.56 acres. F. Site Plan: The proposed use shall be required to comply with the site plan review procedures and standards of Section 8.5, site plan review, as specified. The applicant plans to add a 10’ x 10’ storage shed to the North of the building. A building permit shall be required for placement of the storage container and any interior remodeling to the existing building. The applicant has submitted a site plan indicating the location for parking on the site. Staff will work with the applicant to ensure the site conforms with UDC parking space requirements, including one ADA Van Accessible parking space. PUBLIC COMMENTS This petition has been properly noticed. Letters were sent to 17 surrounding property owners. At the time of this report no public comment has been received. 15  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility STAFF CONCLUSION Staff concludes the approval of Petition SUP 22-55 a request for a Special Use Permit to allow for the cultivation, manufacturing and production of adult use cannabis. With the investment of the property owner in the new business, staff is recommending, per Section 8.9.6.B, that the SUP be granted for a period of 10 years, at which time it can be reviewed and renewed. STAFF RECOMMENDATION The Community Works Department recommends approval of Petition SUP 22-55, a request from Christopher Richardson for a Special Use Permit for an adult use cannabis cultivation, production and manufacturing facility at 738 W. Main Street with the following conditions of approval: 1. A City of Farmington business registration will be required. 2. A building/fire inspection shall be required. 3. A building permit shall be required for interior remodeling and placement of the storage container. 4. Per UDC section 5.2.3 & 5.2.10 – Installation of 3 parking spaces and one ADA accessible parking space with one of which providing van-accessibility with appropriate signage shall be required. Spaces shall be located near the accessible entrances where possible. 5. Staff recommends the use of street front and/or parking area landscaping per UDC Sec. 5.5 to enhance and preserve the natural environment and beauty of the city, to minimize the adverse effects of development, and to promote the general welfare of the citizens in Farmington. 16  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility 17  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility 18  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility Site Plan 19  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility 20  City of Farmington SUP 22-55 738 W. Main Street – Integrated Cannabis Facility Properties within 300 feet 21