Cannabis facility moving forward
CALEXICO — Preparation of an environmental impact report for a proposed Calexico medical marijuana cultivation facility is currently underway, with a final report due in about 22 weeks.
The environmental impact report (EIR) for Trinity Farming & Manufacturing, Inc.’s proposed cannabis facility has delayed the projected start date for cultivation, but the report is in keeping with Trinity’s commitment to comply with regulatory mandates and addressing any public concerns or legal challenges.
“We truly want to build a state-of-the-art best-practices facility and to hold this up as a model to the Calexico community,” said James Irwin, chief executive, and operating officer.
The EIR will examine the impact of the 8.23acre project, located in the 2400 block of Enterprise Boulevard. Once completed, the report will go before the city’s planning commission and City Council for possible approval.
The EIR will assess the proposed project’s impact on noise, water, odor, air quality and transportation and traffic as part of, but not the entirety of, its scope of work.
The proposed project will consist of five total buildings, one of which already exists, as well as the construction of three new buildings ranging in size from 39,000 to 48,000 square feet. A 10,000 square foot transportation building is also scheduled to be constructed.
The project is initially expected to provide about 20 to 25 high-paying jobs, a figure that is expected to eventually grow to more than 8,000 once all four proposed cultivation and manufacturing facilities are built, Irwin said.
Growing pains
Yet, challenges remain for the ambitious project, including federal laws that classify marijuana as a controlled substance no different than heroin and cocaine, as well as the lack of any banking institutions in California that are willing or prepared to handle marijuana-related business transactions, Irwin said.
Although other states that have legalized medical marijuana in recent years have established protocols to service marijuana-related businesses, California has yet to have done so, but appears to be making headway, Irwin said.
“I’m confident we will have banking in March after we come online,” he said.
Trinity, which will not operate as a dispensary and does not have plans to sell its finished products locally, may also encounter challenges when it comes to transporting its cannabis products outside of the county.
El Centro Sector Border Patrol officials have repeatedly stated that federal law obligates agents to take enforcement action against individuals in possession of marijuana, including any theoretical driver transporting medical marijuana who is detained at a local checkpoint.
“We can’t and we’re not going to look the other way,” said Assistant Chief David Kim in a previous interview. “Until such time that the law changes, we really don’t have a choice on that.”
Yet, Kim also acknowledged that the U.S. Attorney’s Office ultimately has the discretion to prosecute – or not — any arrested individual legally authorized to possess medical marijuana.
Since May 2014, a federal law known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment has prevented federal officials from expending any funds to prosecute medical marijuana users and sellers protected by voter-approved medical marijuana laws such as California’s.
Trinity officials said they are hopeful that Congress chooses to renew the amendment, scheduled to expire on Dec. 8.
Compared to other numerous business ventures that Irwin said he had previously been involved with, the medical marijuana industry is by far the most complicated endeavor he’s ever undertaken.
“There is no playbook,” Irwin said. “It requires a lot of flexibility and creativity.”
Strategic growth
The city of Calexico’s decision at the start of the year to authorize medical marijuana cultivation and manufacturing facilities within the city made it the first Valley locale to do so.
The strategic decision represents one of three prongs that the city is currently employing to revitalize economic activity, which also includes the expansion of commercial activity and increased residential housing development, said City Manager Armando Villa.
“Over time that strategy may generate $500,000 to $2.5 million (annually) in revenue once the project starts taking off,” Villa said, referring to the Trinity project.
The city’s potential windfall from the Trinity project is based on an excise tax, modeled similarly after taxes adopted by the cities of Coachella and La Mesa, that would generate about $255,000 in excise fees per half-acre, Irwin said.
The potential tax revenues also raise the possibility that the city would be able to fund services and staff positions that it has had to reduce in recent times as a result of budget shortfalls and shrinking tax revenues.
“It would be meaningful to be able to reverse that,” Irwin said.
Yet, the proposed cannabis project is not without its detractors, including Councilwoman Maritza Hurtado, who at the council’s Oct. 18 meeting cast the sole no-vote against a reimbursement agreement with Trinity regarding the EIR report and the hiring of an environmental consultant to produce the report.
Hurtado had also previously called for increased public input regarding the proposed Trinity project, which she said appeared to have been approved in January without much public discussion.
Former councilman Joong Kim also questioned city officials’ sincerity during the Oct. 18 meeting’s public comment session, pointing out that the council’s latest vote accommodating Trinity’s cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility seemed at odds with a formal proclamation declaring the last week of October as Red Ribbon Week.
“It seems disrespectful against the people who are fighting against drugs,” Kim had said.