Coachella City Council to review approval of cannabis cultivation facility
The Coachella City Council is expected to adopt a mitigated negative declaration for a proposed medical cannabis cultivation facility, a necessary step for the city to secure a foothold in the legal cannabis industry.
Approval of the declaration would mean the city has determined that construction of a cultivation facility would have no adverse or significant impacts on the environment.
Irvine-based Cultivation Technologies Inc. hopes to construct two office buildings, with laboratory space in each building for the extraction of oil from cannabis plants, on a six-acre former auto wrecking yard at 84811 Ave. 48.
Three interim buildings would also be constructed on the site’s northeast corner — one to “house project operations” and two housing laboratory facilities. The entire site would be the workplace for about 120 employees, according to city documents, which indicate construction is slated for completion in November.
A conditional use permit for the interim facilities and architectural review for the cultivation facility were approved by the Coachella Planning Commission last week.
The efforts mirror similar moves in Coachella Valley cities like Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City to allow marijuana cultivation in order to generate tax revenue.
According to a city staff report, the project would generate a minimum of $950,000 annually for the city, with the potential of producing more than $4 million per year.
