SAFFORD — After five hours of public comment, the Graham County Board of Supervisors Monday approved a re-zoning of Sites 5 and 6 at the NatureSweet greenhouse complex in Bonita, which will allow those sites to be sold to Bayacan for a medical-grade cannabis grow.
The vote was 2-1, with Supervisors Paul David, D-Dist. 1, and John Howard, R-Dist. 2, in favor.
“It is my job to keep Graham County fiscally reliable and viable; to be able to offer the services to every one of you sitting out there through financial stability. I have to do that; it’s my obligation to do that,” Howard said.
Opposed was Supervisor Danny Smith, R-Dist. 3, in whose district the greenhouse complex resides.
“I have a really hard time telling the people who have to live next to this, for their real and perceived impacts on their lives, to, you know, pound sand and live with it, Smith said.
Unlike previous public hearings, where the majority of comment was in opposition to the zoning change, the comments at Monday’s meeting were evenly split — with 17 in favor, 17 opposed and one by County Assessor Darlene Alder, where she explained the history of taxes involving EuroFresh and NatureSweet.
Public comment in favor focused on new jobs and the taxes that would be paid by Bayacan, as well as the jobs and taxes that would be lost if NatureSweet decommissioned the Bonita operation in the event the re-zoning was rejected.
Public comment in opposition focused on the immorality of marijuana, impact to property values and the smell that area residents said would emanate from the facility.
Next up is another public hearing, this time before the Graham County Board of Adjustment, to seek a variance due to the distance between the greenhouse complex and a neighboring property, as well as obtaining permits to operate from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Date of the Board of Adjustment hearing has not yet been set.
“We’re going head-long into ordering parts and pieces for the refurbishment of the greenhouse, and we’re planning to be permitted by about the end of October,” said Bayacan principal Frank Van Straalen.
Graham County code requires marijuana operations to take place in unlimited manufacturing land use (M-X) zone, which is why Bayacan sought a change from general land use (A zoning), under which the NatureSweet greenhouse site currently operates.
Bayacan has said it will purchase Site 6 and has an option to purchase Site 5. The Site 6 greenhouses encompass 53 acres; however, officials at Bayacan told Gila Valley Central that about 48 acres were be used to farm and the other five would be used for equipment and administration.
Bayacan officials said the company is seeking to hire 150 people for the first phase of development, at a starting salary of about $35,000 per year plus benefits. At build-out, the company expects to employ about 600. If Bayacan purchases Site 5, that number would double.
In a press release following the meeting, Bayacan officials said there is still work to be done.
“While this rezoning approval was a crucial victory for us, our work here is not finished. We are committed to implementing the diversification plan in the coming months and years in accordance with state and county requirements and regulations. We are committed to recruiting job applicants from Graham County. And we are committed to being a good neighbor and partner within this community,” the release reads.
Meanwhile, NatureSweet will turn Sites 1 and 2 into research and development facilities, and NatureSweet officials recently met with Eastern Arizona College leadership about educational partnership opportunities.
