Growers apply for pot permit near Hot Sulphur Springs
hshell@skyhidailynews.com
The Grand County Planning Commission will consider a special use permit for a marijuana cultivation facility near Hot Sulphur Springs at its Oct. 8 meeting.
Shea and Ashley Terlip, owners of Eco-Restoration Farms, applied for the special use permit to build two commercial greenhouses on a parcel on County Road 55 in unincorporated Grand County.
Grand County Commissioners adopted an ordinance regulating marijuana facilities in the county in January.
The applicants hope to first build a roughly 2,000 square-foot greenhouse and adjoining office and processing space, with construction being completed by fall 2015, according to the application.
Another greenhouse of equal size would follow one to two years after the first, according to the application, and would include a vegetable garden.
Both greenhouses would utilize aquaponics, a holistic approach to food production that combines aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic animals, and hydroponics, a method of horticulture that uses nutrient rich liquid rather than soil.
Eco-Restoration Farms is a “small scale farm focused on utilizing organic practices to grow our community and create a better tomorrow,” according to the application.
“Our aim is to establish Eco-Restoration Farms as the leader in innovative design, quality and price of product as well as eco-responsibility,” the application states.
The county planning commission denied a special use permit for a grow facility near Granby in July.
The county planning and zoning department recommended approval for the permit, though some commissioners worried that approving the permit might sour relations between the county and Granby, which expressed its intent to annex the property.
The department has yet to issue a recommendation on the Eco-Restoration application.
If Eco-Restoration Farms is granted the special use permit, it will need to obtain a license from the county in addition to state licensing requirements.
Hank Shell can be reached at 970-887-3334 ext. 19610.