Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
With the table now set for a legal cannabis market, two Pendleton businesses are working toward offering the main course.
Two months after Pendleton legalized marijuana sales, the owners of Kind Leaf Pendleton and Pendleton Cannabis are currently navigating the state and city's regulatory process.
Both businesses took an important first step when the Pendleton planning commission approved their locations at a meeting Thursday.
While previous public hearings on marijuana occasionally attracted resistance, no one publicly testified against either business.
And although there was some confusion as to whether Kind Leaf's 1733 S.W. Court Ave. location's proximity to the Pendleton Convention Center violated the city's zoning rules – a cannabis retailer can't be within a 1,000 feet of a school, park or a public facility primarily attended by minors – both businesses faced little resistance in receiving approval from the commission.
Despite the early victories, a significant amount of the licensing process lies ahead of them before they can open up shop.
"It's a steep learning curve," said Shawn Pace, a co-owner of Pendleton Cannabis on 816 Southgate. "It's heavily regulated."
Pace originally was thinking about opening a coffee shop when ballot measures legalizing recreational and medical marijuana passed in November.
That development spurred him to make his first foray into the cannabis industry.
Once Pace finishes renovating the former lube shop into a marijuana retail space in about two weeks, he said he'll request an inspection from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
The OLCC will then evaluate whether the building contains all the elements required by the state – a video security system, a designated sales area and a secure room where employees can lock away marijuana products when the store isn't operating.
Brandon Krenzler, a co-owner of Kind Leaf, said his business will also be ready for inspection by the end of the month.
Giving a tour of the building as the interior was being painted, Krenzler showed how they were subdividing the one-time fabric store to meet OLCC rules.
Krenzler is hoping to use his marijuana retail experience and connections as a writer for cannabis trade publications to offer a boutique atmosphere.
"We abstain from cannabis leaf signage, green crosses, flashing lights, that stuff," Krenzler said at the commission meeting. "It really makes Sandy Boulevard in Portland look pretty pitiful."
Every prospective business owner and employee will also have to pass a background check.
Not everyone's record is spotless – between 2004 and 2005, Krenzler was convicted of several felonies and misdemeanors, including burglary and assaulting a public safety officer.
Krenzler said he's worked hard to turn his life around since that time and is working with a lawyer to get the charges expunged. He hasn't been involved in a criminal case in more than a decade and said he was confident he would be issued the requisite licenses.
Pendleton police chief Stuart Roberts wrote in an email that he has met with Krenzler and discussed his criminal history.
Roberts, whose department will be conducting the background checks on behalf of the city, wrote that the only automatic disqualifier for an applicant is a felony drug conviction.
"A mere felony conviction in itself is not necessarily a disqualifier," he wrote in an email. "If/when felony convictions are discovered, the facts/circumstances of the conviction are explored. I characterize all non-drug related convictions as discretionary, because at face value they may not tell the true story of offense. I would be concerned about (an) offense that involves fraud and/or violence."
Roberts added that he would also consider the length of time between the conviction and the application.
Roberts wrote that he has not conducted official background checks on any of the applicants yet.
OLCC spokesman Mark Pettinger didn't list any specific disqualifiers the state considers during a background check, but did say that the state also looks into investors in addition to owners and employees.
One such investor in Kind Leaf is Jim English, a former Pendleton Police Department officer and Umatilla County Sheriff's deputy.
English said he retired from law enforcement in May 2016 to get involved in private business and work with his hands.
English said he had been working with A-1 Construction Fence & Deck, which eventually relinquished its space to Kind Leaf. English said he was helping Kind Leaf with some construction work when he was offered shares in the company.
After considering the moral implications and weighing the pros and cons, English accepted their offer.
English thinks his background can help Kind Leaf shed some of the negative perceptions surrounding marijuana.
"I want to see something that's professional, that's clean," he said about the store.
If and when Kind Leaf and Pendleton Cannabis open, they could be followed by others.
At the planning commission meeting, city permit technician Julie Chase said the commission would consider another conditional use application for a marijuana retailer at a future meeting with more potentially down the pike.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Race Is On To Bring Retail Marijuana To Pendleton
Author: Antonio Sierra
Contact: 1-800-522-0255
Photo Credit: Andy Colwell
Website: East Oregonian
Two months after Pendleton legalized marijuana sales, the owners of Kind Leaf Pendleton and Pendleton Cannabis are currently navigating the state and city's regulatory process.
Both businesses took an important first step when the Pendleton planning commission approved their locations at a meeting Thursday.
While previous public hearings on marijuana occasionally attracted resistance, no one publicly testified against either business.
And although there was some confusion as to whether Kind Leaf's 1733 S.W. Court Ave. location's proximity to the Pendleton Convention Center violated the city's zoning rules – a cannabis retailer can't be within a 1,000 feet of a school, park or a public facility primarily attended by minors – both businesses faced little resistance in receiving approval from the commission.
Despite the early victories, a significant amount of the licensing process lies ahead of them before they can open up shop.
"It's a steep learning curve," said Shawn Pace, a co-owner of Pendleton Cannabis on 816 Southgate. "It's heavily regulated."
Pace originally was thinking about opening a coffee shop when ballot measures legalizing recreational and medical marijuana passed in November.
That development spurred him to make his first foray into the cannabis industry.
Once Pace finishes renovating the former lube shop into a marijuana retail space in about two weeks, he said he'll request an inspection from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
The OLCC will then evaluate whether the building contains all the elements required by the state – a video security system, a designated sales area and a secure room where employees can lock away marijuana products when the store isn't operating.
Brandon Krenzler, a co-owner of Kind Leaf, said his business will also be ready for inspection by the end of the month.
Giving a tour of the building as the interior was being painted, Krenzler showed how they were subdividing the one-time fabric store to meet OLCC rules.
Krenzler is hoping to use his marijuana retail experience and connections as a writer for cannabis trade publications to offer a boutique atmosphere.
"We abstain from cannabis leaf signage, green crosses, flashing lights, that stuff," Krenzler said at the commission meeting. "It really makes Sandy Boulevard in Portland look pretty pitiful."
Every prospective business owner and employee will also have to pass a background check.
Not everyone's record is spotless – between 2004 and 2005, Krenzler was convicted of several felonies and misdemeanors, including burglary and assaulting a public safety officer.
Krenzler said he's worked hard to turn his life around since that time and is working with a lawyer to get the charges expunged. He hasn't been involved in a criminal case in more than a decade and said he was confident he would be issued the requisite licenses.
Pendleton police chief Stuart Roberts wrote in an email that he has met with Krenzler and discussed his criminal history.
Roberts, whose department will be conducting the background checks on behalf of the city, wrote that the only automatic disqualifier for an applicant is a felony drug conviction.
"A mere felony conviction in itself is not necessarily a disqualifier," he wrote in an email. "If/when felony convictions are discovered, the facts/circumstances of the conviction are explored. I characterize all non-drug related convictions as discretionary, because at face value they may not tell the true story of offense. I would be concerned about (an) offense that involves fraud and/or violence."
Roberts added that he would also consider the length of time between the conviction and the application.
Roberts wrote that he has not conducted official background checks on any of the applicants yet.
OLCC spokesman Mark Pettinger didn't list any specific disqualifiers the state considers during a background check, but did say that the state also looks into investors in addition to owners and employees.
One such investor in Kind Leaf is Jim English, a former Pendleton Police Department officer and Umatilla County Sheriff's deputy.
English said he retired from law enforcement in May 2016 to get involved in private business and work with his hands.
English said he had been working with A-1 Construction Fence & Deck, which eventually relinquished its space to Kind Leaf. English said he was helping Kind Leaf with some construction work when he was offered shares in the company.
After considering the moral implications and weighing the pros and cons, English accepted their offer.
English thinks his background can help Kind Leaf shed some of the negative perceptions surrounding marijuana.
"I want to see something that's professional, that's clean," he said about the store.
If and when Kind Leaf and Pendleton Cannabis open, they could be followed by others.
At the planning commission meeting, city permit technician Julie Chase said the commission would consider another conditional use application for a marijuana retailer at a future meeting with more potentially down the pike.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Race Is On To Bring Retail Marijuana To Pendleton
Author: Antonio Sierra
Contact: 1-800-522-0255
Photo Credit: Andy Colwell
Website: East Oregonian
