Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Following the recommendation of the Jefferson Planning Commission, county officials recently approved the requested expansion of the medical marijuana facility that is under construction on an 85-acre property near the community of Waukeenah.
On Thursday evening, Dec. 19, the Jefferson County Commission unanimously approved the site plan modification requested by Trulieve, the state-licensed medical marijuana facility that is headquartered in Gadsden County. The approval came absent much commission discussion.
Planning Official Shannon Metty told the commission that the modifications entailed the addition of several buildings to the original site plan. Which additions, she said, consisted of six buildings of 24,000 sq. ft. each; two of 46,000 sq. ft. each; one of 8,400 sq. ft.; and one of 5,000 sq. ft. The latter two buildings, she explained, would be used for storage and a reverse osmosis system, respectively.
Additionally, she said, the change would include a Duke Energy substation to power the overall facility.
Another modification approved earlier by the state entailed the consolidation of three 250,000-sq. foot buildings into a single 750,000 sq. foot building, which change is what prompted the more recent modifications.
At least that was the explanation that engineer Shawn Marston, of the Tallahassee-based Urban Catalyst Consultants, which is designing the facility, offered the Planning Commission on Thursday, Dec. 12, when planners questioned the reason for the expansion.
Marston said that obstacles had arisen in the design of the newly consolidated building that were slowing down the overall facility's completion. In the interim, he said, construction of the smaller buildings that were being added could proceed rapidly and allow for the facility to go into production quicker, which was the goal.
“To compensate for the additional buildings, (Trulieve) has increased the stormwater pond,” Metty said in her turn. “Once the Suwannee River Water Management District has modified the permit for the pond, a copy will be supplied to the Planning Department to be added to the Truelieve Inc. file.”
She added that no additional employees would result from the changes, and hence the septic tank and parking lot would remain unchanged from the original plan.
In summary, it was her assessment that Trullieve's modifications were consistent with the standards of the Land Development Code and consequently she recommended approval, Metty said.
The only two issues discussed at the earlier Planning Commission meeting had to do with the facility's lighting and buffering. Metty asked that the facility's lights fronting U.S. 27 be adjusted to cast their light downward instead of across the road and onto the properties of adjoining landowners. And certain allowances were made for the buffering requirements, in recognition of the particular needs of the transmission lines that feed the enterprise its energy.
The Jefferson County facility will only grow marijuana. It will not process the plants, which function will continue to be done in Gadsden County. The local facility is located on U.S. 27, less than a mile from the intersection of the Waukeenah Highway.
The facility is expected to begin production as early as January. It will operate 24 hours, seven days a week and employ 300 when in full production. It will also be highly secured, both with perimeter fencing and security personnel.