Dispensary to go into old Food 4 Less site

The Vallejo Planning Commission gave the go-ahead Monday for a “mega” cannabis retail store at the former Food 4 Less grocery store site in northern Vallejo.

The major use permit is for the 17,056-square-foot location at 5184 Sonoma Boulevard in the Meadows Plaza Shopping Center. The store, V-Town Farms, will take over the lease from an existing cannabis business, HTP Group.

The space will have retail sales, manufacturing, and distribution, but no cultivation.

The lone “no” vote for the move came from Vice Chair Kathleen Diohep.

Before the vote to approve, input from some in the community and businesses adjacent to the Meadows Plaza focused on the commission allowing more time for the proposed owners to

engage other businesses in the vicinity, get more community feedback, and consider the long-term impact on the area.

S.G. Ellison identified himself as a business owner nearby who had only just heard about the proposal the previous Tuesday and he said he was worried the whole deal was being rushed.

“We are very concerned,” he said during the public comment. “The developmental impact on the neighborhood is a concern.” He also said that there had been no community outreach from the buyers, Charles Wesley and his two sons.

Rhonda Chadwick of the nonprofit Homegrown Holistic Collective, a medical cannabis dispensary down the way from Meadows, said that things were moving too quickly.

“I provide medicine to women with cancer. If this large operation is able to kill off ‘mom and pops,’ I want them to take on these ladies. We provided for them on a free basis. I want some guarantee that there will be good business practices in town.”

There were also calls of support for the business during the community forum. The owner of the Food 4 Less property, Joseph Raminey, said after he purchased it in April of last year he has contacted “just about every single” grocery retailer in the state and did not get any interest for it, though it has stood vacant since 2016. He praised the Wesleys for beefing up landscaping, removing the blight, and restriping the parking lot.

A woman identifying herself as the owner of the Sushi Grill in the Meadows center told the commission that she appreciates the work that the Wesleys have already done on the property and she hopes that it will invigorate her business and perhaps invite other businesses to open up as well.

“The security guards are a tremendous help,” she said. “The homeless come and cause a ruckus. We have a great relationship with Chuck and his team. I have high hopes for them.”

Members of communities where there are other cannabis businesses run by the Wesleys called in and added their support, saying that the family had been good community stewards in Rio Vista and Antioch, and have given money to many good causes, such as Loaves and Fishes hunger outreach, Thanksgiving dinners for the needy, and the restoration of a Little League franchise. The Wesleys told the commission that they regularly give $2,500 a month to the Sports Hall of Fame and the Delta Veterans in Antioch, as well as donating $100,000 to Beat The Streets, which reaches out to the families of incarcerated individuals.

Beyond giving locally, their business would add $2 million in fees alone for Vallejo, not including sales and excise taxes, they claimed. They told the commission that 200 “living wage” jobs would be created, without giving the specific dollar amount, though jobs at their Antioch outlet began at $15 per hour, according to the East Bay Times. They also will offer 401K and full health benefits, they said.

The site of the store has indeed been neglected and blighted, with frequent illegal dumps, graffiti, and encampments for unhoused people at times. By having armed guards on the premises 24/7, the Wesleys said they will curb such activity, and indeed already have by taking the steps they did already to improve the lot.

The planning commission did draw one line in the sand: The new owners must install front windows so that 60 percent of the store’s interior is visible from the outside. The Wesleys attempted to argue that the existing glass doors already account for that, but the city disagreed. To install windows into the brick building will be expensive and structurally challenging, they argued, but if it meant being allowed to open up, they agreed to do so.

One caller noted that the Wesleys had “already been caught doing illegal construction,” referring to work done on the site without permits, leading to it being “redtagged.” Planning Commission Chair Diosdado “JR” Matulac assured the committee that the red-tag issues had been dealt with and that they are now “in compliance.”

Diohep concurred with concerns about a lack of transparency and community outreach for the V-Town Farms proposal. She suggested that when and if they decided to expand their operations even more, that they take more time with it.

“You (need to) give advanced notice,” she said. “We would put a condition on this that before any expansion, that you would come back and work with the community.”

Ultimately, Diohep supports the business overall, adding, “I like the idea of (being) the biggest entity outside of Las Vegas.”