Carson City Planning Commission OKs proposed cannabis dispensary at US-50 East location
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:08am
On Wednesday, the Carson City Planning Commission approved a Special Use Permit for a third proposed cannabis dispensary facility in the capital city.
While an SUP was approved previously for a third dispensary to be operated under Qualcan LLC., that developer never created their dispensary, keeping the current operating dispensaries in Carson City at two.
The facility is proposed for a 0.37 acre parcel which is currently an existing retail building near the intersection of Airport Road and Highway 50 East.
The property is currently zoned General Commercial, and a cannabis dispensary is an allowed use within that zoning.
Commissioner Greg Brooks asked whether or not the sidewalk would be fixed in front of the property as it is currently just a “strip of dirt.”
Commissioner Vern Krahn agreed, and said that pedestrian and driveway continuity should be a condition of the project.
Dave Snellgrove on behalf of the applicant stated that they intend to create both a driveway, shared pedestrian path as well as landscaping as part of their proposed site plan. The parking lot will provide for 18 parking spots.
The facility plan includes a customer retail area, product storage and back of house operations, a receiving area, as well as a 1,000 square foot area at the back of the facility which will be held for future expansion.
The proposed facility is only 0.2 miles away from one of the two current operating dispensaries in Carson City, Zenleaf, formerly Sierra Well / Sierra Wellness.
The General Manager of Zenleaf, Alexis Jensen, provided public comment during deliberations, stating that having the proposed facility pop up “in their backyard” was a surprise.
Jensen said adding another dispensary would create a “race to the bottom,” and that she does not want to see the capital city turn into a “green capital.”
She also stated that between the two in Carson City, the Sol dispensary in Washoe Valley and Battle Born dispensary in Mound House, the market is already saturated and dispensaries should look into expanding into other cities instead.
However, Carson City allows for a total of four dispensaries to operate within city limits, two of which are still open for licensing.
Commissioners approved the SUP with two additional conditions: first, that the developers work with city staff to create the proposed multi-path improvements; and second, to work with NDOT to determine whether it would be feasible to create right-in, right-out only driveway due to potential traffic issues.
