The approval of another Turlock cannabis dispensary came with little opposition from the public Thursday night, moving the second of four planned retail locations one step closer toward opening its doors.
Perfect Union, a Sacramento-based cannabis company, will open its fifth store at 2500 N. Golden State Blvd. after the Planning Commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the location during their meeting this week. The commission approved the City’s first dispensary in its pilot cannabis program, Firehouse, back in January. While the program allows for an unlimited number of manufacturing, testing and distribution sites, only the four best dispensary applicants were invited to take part after being ranked from a group of over 30 applicants.
Both Firehouse and Perfect Union are two of the top four dispensary candidates selected. Evergreen Market is on the list as well but has yet to go before the Planning Commission for its permit approval, and nationally-known dispensary MedMen was also selected but dropped out earlier this year. Natural Healing Center of Grover Beach was pulled from the top 10 candidates to take the dispensary’s place.
Perfect Union will move into the 4,346 square foot building just south of the Assyrian American Civic Club, formerly the home of G & L Irrigation and Farm Supply. The dispensary will make little changes to the site. Plans include improving the landscaping on both the property and the median on Golden State Boulevard in front of the space, installing a fence and gate in the middle of the property to create a secure loading area and repainting the building with hints of the company’s trademark colors — blue, green and white.
The paint job will also include a mural on the south side of the building that features the dispensary’s logo.
Commissioner Constance Anderson wondered how much color would be used for the building’s new aesthetic.
“We have the color scheme, but is it going to be a giant, mint green building?” she asked.
“No. We always take into account the public image in everything that we do,” Tom Sheridan, an attorney for Perfect Union, said. “It will be very tasteful with a neutral color scheme that will be very pleasing to the eye, and it will look a lot better than what’s there.”
There will be 15 parking spaces on site, meeting the City requirements of one parking space for every 300 square foot of retail space. Like Firehouse, Perfect Union’s floor plan features a secured waiting and reception are where IDs will be checked prior to allowing entrance into the retail floor area.
According to Deputy Director of Development Services Katy Quintero, City staff alerted all properties within a 500-foot radius of the Perfect Union site about the conditional use permit proposal and received no complaints.
“To this moment, staff has not received any comments — written or verbal — from the public about this project,” Quintero said.
The almost-empty room at City Hall during Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting was a stark contrast from the Jan. 16 meeting, where concerned parents and community members showed up to voice their displeasure about the Firehouse dispensary’s proposed location at 1601 W. Main St., which is down the street from Osborn Two-Way Immersion Academy at the former Waffle Shop location.
Though that dispensary was also approved by the Planning Commission, an appeal was filed and the item will go before the City Council on Tuesday for a final decision. Community members have 10 days from Thursday night’s Planning Commission meeting to appeal the decision regarding Perfect Union and can do so by visiting the City Clerk’s office at 156 S. Broadway, Ste. 230, or by calling 209-668-5540 for more information.
