At a planning and zoning meeting on May 23, the Camp Verde Town Council unanimously voted to change the zoning rules for marijuana dispensaries and grow facilities in town.
While there currently aren’t any dispensaries in Camp Verde, the changes would move dispensaries out of C2 commercial classification, such as Old Town and Main Street, to C3 classification, such as the areas along State Route 260 close to town. They would also require medicinal marijuana grow houses to be placed on M1 manufacturing and industrial zoning, such as the areas by Joan’s Ford or the SR 260 and Interstate 17 junction, instead of their current C3 classification.
According to Camp Verde Community Development Director Carmen Howard, the change comes due to a desire to preserve these parcels of valuable real estate for planned developments, as downtown Camp Verde is anticipated to grow into a more robust tourist destination, and the 260 corridor is expected to develop into a commercial sector once the Arizona Department of Transportation project is finished.
Howard said that though there are currently no dispensaries in town, Camp Verde wants to avoid any future businesses clashing with the historic appeal of Main Street.
“We want to be proactive with zoning,” Howard said, considering not just the possibility of medical dispensaries being opened downtown, but the potential for new businesses if the state legalizes recreational marijuana sales.
She also pointed to the large amount of space that grow facilities can take up, as well as their lack of significant tax revenue, since they do not employ large amounts of workers, and the taxes from business and sales would come from dispensaries, not grow houses.
“We grow the stuff here, we provide services here, we provide water here, but we don’t get tax revenue from them,” Howard said. “With respect to the benefit to the town and the citizens, those C3 facilities give back to the town more when they generate jobs and tax revenues.”
The marijuana grow houses already in place under previous zoning regulations, such as the Harvest Inc. facility close to Cherry Creek Road, will be grandfathered in, including the possibility of expansions. Howard said she had been in touch with existing medicinal marijuana businesses in town, and had not encountered any issues.
“The change was some thing that was spearheaded by the citizens,” Howard said, referring to interest from ordinary Camp Verde residents seeking to manage where the businesses could set up shop. At the May 23 meeting, Camp Verde resident and former council member Carol German spoke in favor of the move, complimenting the council on the decision.
The council expressed that their decision was not made with any ill will toward the marijuana industry, but merely an attempt to manage its place within the town.
“They’re treated like any other business,” Mayor Charlie German said at the meeting. “The town has authority to restrict where they come in.”
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
