Members of the City Planning Commission approved two requests last week that would allow expansion of medical marijuana facilities in Lawton.
One request allows operation of a processing facility in conjunction with a dispensary at 2617 Cache Road, while the second allows operation of a growing facility in conjunction with a dispensary at 417 S. 11th. Both are located in C-5 General Commercial Districts located along arterials, a designation allowed by city code for growing and processing facilities, as long as they operate in conjunction with dispensaries. Under city zoning code, dispensaries (where medical marijuana products are sold) are equivalent to pharmacies, and they are legal for placement in a wider variety of zoning classifications.
Growing, manufacturing and processing facilities are much more restricted in placement because of the nature of the activities there. But, City Council members have said allowing growing and processing facilities along arterials, as long as such facility operates in conjunction with a dispensary, will encourage development of empty structures.
The proposal for a facility at 2617 Cache Road is an expansion of an existing bakery, said Ryan Busse, owner of Bakery & Co., in his Use Permitted on Review (UPOR) application. Busse said his bakery has been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he plans to reopen it. He also intends to sell baked goods that are infused with medical marijuana. Those infused goods would be sold in a separate area, a now-vacant space located on the west side of his bakery and being developed for use as a dispensary and processing facility.
Noting the businesses would be operated separately, Busse said the bakery would be “open to everybody,” with the infused baked goods separated from the rest of the baked goods and available for sale to those patients holding state licenses.
Busse said the marijuana infusion would not be manufactured on site. Rather, he will buy the THC already prepared, then infuse baked goods and gummies on site (meaning, there will be no volatile chemicals on site). But, the process still is classified as processing, meaning Busse must hold state-issued licenses for a dispensary and a processing facility.
Busse said the expanded business would allow him to expand his existing six-member staff to 10 or 12 employees. Before that happens, he will remodel the former bar space on his west side into a 1,074-square-foot dispensary with a 905-square-foot processing area.
The only real concerns cited by CPC members centered in parking.
While the staff analysis said there is sufficient parking for the size of the building, they are calculating available parking in both the rear and front of the business. CPC member and former city planner Deborah Jones asked about access to the building from the rear parking lot because she said parking in front is insufficient. Busse and the owner were directed to work out details before the recommendation goes to the City Council for final action.
In a second UPOR, Manuel Brisolara and Corbin Burgess petitioned to add a growing facility to a medical marijuana dispensary already located at 417 S. 11th, under a certificate of occupancy issued in March 2019.
The growing facility would be located adjacent to the dispensary, in a separate suite in the commercial complex, Burgess said. Charlotte Brown, planning and subdivision administrator for the City of Lawton, confirmed the areas would be separate, and a staff analysis shows the proposed growing facility is consistent with approvals given to similar facilities in similar circumstances.
