Cannabis stink in Moreau

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

A cannabis field off of Northway Exit 17 has raised a stink in Moreau, as nearby residents complain about the strong odor the plants are giving off.

The property in question is 63 Spier Falls Road, owned by Saratoga Springs-based Shangri-La Real Estate Holdings.

The growing of cannabis at the site seemed to catch the town by surprise. An Aug. 19 notice of violation sent from Moreau Building, Planning and Development Coordinator Josh Westfall to Shangri-La owner Orson Klender said that the town became aware of “what appeared to be a growing operation” on July 25.

The notice said the growing was confirmed to be of “cannabis for wholesale purposes” based on a phone call between the building inspector and Mr. Klender.

It was not immediately clear whether the growing was occurring in a residential or commercial district because the property is split between those two zones.

On Aug. 8, the notice says, at the request of Peter Loyola, an agent for Shangri-La, the town and Shangri-La met at Moreau Town Hall and it was confirmed that it was in the commercial zone.

“The town clarified that site plan review would be required for any uses in this district, and growing operations were permitted in approved commercial greenhouses or nurseries only,” the notice said.

In other words, Shangri-La was found to be in violation of Moreau’s town code.

“To alleviate this violation, grow operations must cease on this property.”

But the next sentence of the notice presented Shangri-La with an avenue for how they could continue growing.

“You may also attempt to bring this use into compliance via the submittal of an application to the Planning Board for review at their next regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 16,” the notice said.

Shangri-La did submit an application for Planning Board review at its Sept. 16 meeting. It included plans to build a dozen 3,600 sq. ft. greenhouses, a 5,000 sq. ft. drying/storage barn, and a 1,000 sq. ft. farmstand on the property.

Mr. Loyola, representing Shangri-La, said the greenhouses would grow half cannabis and half other produce. Outdoor growing areas would cultivate only produce, not cannabis.

No decision was made by the board that evening. A Shangri-La representative suggested it would bring further plans to a future meeting. The Planning Board next meets on Monday, Oct. 21.

In the Aug. 19 notice, Shangri-La was also found to be in violation of another chapter of Moreau’s town code for erecting a fence on the site without a permit.

“To alleviate this violation, you must remove the fence or apply to the building department for a fence permit,” it said.

Mr. Westfall, the Moreau building, planning and development coordinator, told The Chronicle on Tuesday that Shangri-La had submitted an application for the fence that the town is reviewing.

But at Moreau’s Oct. 8 town board meeting, Supervisor Jesse Fish expressed disgruntlement that Shangri-La had not applied for a permit sooner.

“We do have permit fees that are supposed to be met when you’re doing something — it’s supposed to be brought to the town in the beginning, and it wasn’t,” Mr. Fish said. “That part’s been violated, and they’ve been cited for that.

“You can’t just march into town and do anything you want here,” Mr. Fish said. “It’s not the way the program works around here. We’ve had a lot of issues like that. And there’s no reason why they can’t come and talk to us. If people followed the rules as they started, we wouldn’t be sitting here tonight doing what we’re doing.”

Several nearby residents complained about the cannabis field at the meeting.

Kim Wolak of Timber Lane said, “Recently we’ve been smelling a very strong marijuana smell as soon as we come off Exit 17, the exit of the State Park, and for miles around the surrounding area. It’s like a Woodstock Festival of skunks out there. It’s a strong smell.”

She said she was recently outside for an hour and then felt “almost dizzy, or ‘off,’ when I came in.”

Ms. Wolak said the smell of cannabis is already prevalent in the community, and that the farm is making it worse. “You go to Hannaford, you smell weed. You go down the street to Stewa≠≠rt’s, you smell weed. Now in my residential neighborhood where there’s a lot of kids and families, we go outside to garden and have to smell weed,” she said.

Mountain Road resident Veronica Batkay urged the board to address the issue.

“This is awful,” she said. “I’m counting on you guys. I voted you guys in.” To Supervisor Fish in particular, she said, “I’m counting on you, Jesse. I really am.”

Briarhurst Drive resident William Tullock said the cannabis field is having a “serious negative environmental impact.”

“Right from step one, no rules were followed, no proper protocol was followed,” said Mr. Tullock. “They’re operating as if they’re above the law. They wouldn’t even get a permit to put a fence up. That’s how grossly negligent they are.”

Mountain Road resident Kathy Montgomery said, “I would question moving forward with business with a company like this. They’ve already demonstrated a total disregard for us.”

Devin Klender, who is an owner of Shangri-La along with his father Orson Klender, said at the meeting, “We have heard the outcries about the odor.”

He said they are harvesting three weeks early due to “not wanting to disrupt neighbors and such.”

Mr. Klender said, “We are currently decommissioning the outdoor grow over on Spier Falls Road. We are working with the Planning Board and the state’s Office of Cannabis Management to follow the new laid out path to make this a reasonable, permanent, community tolerated operation.”

This is not Shangri-La’s first and only property where it is growing cannabis.

“We have been navigating very tough communication and very vague regulations from the OCM,” Mr. Klender said. “We have been compliant the past three years in all our inspections — our tenants and ourselves.”

He said the state has given a “rare opportunity” compared to other states “for small operators and independent groups to get a head start on laying the foundation before large corporate interests and publicly traded companies take this $7-billion industry and run away.”

For the Spier Falls property, Mr. Klender said, “Cannabis is a means to an end. We strive to bring much more than just cannabis. The Moreau Market is our first show of good faith. We would like that land to represent more than just a weed farm.”

Toward the end of the meeting, the town board discussed potentially putting a moratorium on industrial cannabis growth while the town looks at changing its zoning rules to address the industry.

Supervisor Fish said, “We definitely will work on this. This isn’t something that’s going to go away. We’ll do everything we can to make a wrong a right here.”

Copyright © 2024 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved