A second recreational marijuana dispensary has been approved for Pahrump.
Mike Floyd, who already operates a cultivation facility, Green Life Productions in Pahrump, on Wednesday received a special use permit for a proposed recreational marijuana dispensary in the 1200 block of South Loop Road in Pahrump.
“I think we’ve done well over the last two-and-a-half years years,” Floyd told Nye County commissioners. “I think we’ve been a respectable member of the marijuana community, and I just know the first step to this application process is to get our property zoned for marijuana use,” Floyd said.
Officials said that even after getting a special use permit from the county, Floyd will have to get a license from the state of Nevada.
A second proposal was rejected by Nye County commissioners.
Applicant Rob Lynch, director of business development for Tumbleweed Dispensaries, a Colorado-based brand, proposed a dispensary at 866 S. Nevada Highway 160 in Pahrump.
Tumbleweed Dispensaries currently owns and operates seven licensed marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, two licensed manufacturing facilities in Colorado and two licensed manufacturing facilities in Nevada.
Nye County commissioners denied Lynch’s request, citing issues with a proposed location along the highway.
“In the initial process, I wasn’t aware of that need for the county and for the city, otherwise I would have complied right off the get-go,” Lynch told commissioners.
Commissioner Butch Borasky said there’s “a lot of issues” with the site location.
“There’s nothing there right now. I see a lot of issues with a driveway going onto the main highway, the back road. There’s nothing there, and having that stuff all the way up and down the main roads is not something I could ever support,” Borasky said.
Commission Chairman Dan Schinhofen asked Lynch to come up with a different location.
“It’s something we just don’t want,” Schinhofen said. “We do realize there are people, like other industries, we have; not everybody wants it in their face.”
State issues
Recreational marijuana became legal in Nevada on July 1. Pahrump currently has one dispensary, the Grove at 1541 E. Basin Ave., which sells recreational and medical marijuana.
Nye County was initially approved for just one dispensary. But after recreational marijuana was legalized through the ballot vote last November, Nye got permission for a second dispensary.
Nye County Planning Director Darrell Lacy said that the state, however, has taken local governments out of the approval process.
“When dispensaries were approved the first time, they very specifically stated that they will not take into account the local government’s approval process, the state will approve them and their person will come to the local government for approval,” Lacy said.
On Aug. 1, Nye County commissioners directed staff to move forward with processing applications for special use permits for a recreational marijuana retail store in Nye County and set the application submission deadline of Sept. 7.
Officials said they received applications from Green Life Productions, LLC and Tumbleweed Dispensary Pahrump, LLC, by Sept. 7.
Nye, zoning
Schinhofen said although the state would have to issue licenses, Nye County would still be responsible for zoning.
“So, they can give a license to somebody but if it doesn’t fit where we say it is zoned for, then they have to go back and see what happens,” Schinhofen said.
Lacy said the board could also request permission for a third dispensary from the state.
“The proposed regulations allow the county commission to request a third one. The Department of Taxation would have to review our request and make a decision,” Lacy said.
Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77