Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A marijuana growing and processing application from a town resident was discussed at a town meeting in Garfield Monday night.
About 20 people gathered at the community center for a meeting called by the town’s planning and zoning committee.
The application was filed by Debra Lantzy who lives on 10th Street. If approved by the state, it would allow her to grow marijuana for sale to licensed retail operations.
Lantzy’s business would have no retail element in Garfield.
The evening included an introduction by committee chairman Tammy Howard, a presentation by Lantzy, comments by Garfield-Palouse Police Officer Joe Merry and a question-and-answer session.
Up for debate is the central question of whether the town wants to allow a marijuana growing and processing operation in Garfield.
“Almost everybody had something to say about it,” said Mayor Ray McCown.
“I think the consensus was, ‘we’d like to not have this in our town but they might have to,’” said Lantzy. “They could be setting themselves up for a class-action lawsuit or another lawsuit.”
Lantzy has applied to be a grower and processor for an operation to be housed on property on the south edge of town owned by her uncle, Charles Lantzy.
She has applied for a Tier 2 license, which allows for no less than 2,000 square feet of marijuana plant canopy and no more than 10,000.
Lantzy indicated that the plants would be grown indoor and outdoor, with an eight-foot privacy fence around them. The operation would require no employees.
Lantzy, 52, moved to Garfield last June from Wenatchee with the intention to set up her proposed business, Koulee Kush, LLC. The name is a reference to Coulee while Kush is a slang term for marijuana.
When I-502 passed in Washington in November 2012, Lantzy got to thinking.
“I had an a-ha moment,” she said.
She contacted her uncle and pitched the idea of starting a grow operation on his land.
He agreed and she got to work.
“I’m nothing more than a woman who has had some trials and tribulations in her life who would like to become more financially independent,” said Lantzy. “All in the American dream.”
Lantzy, who explained her trials and tribulations as medical problems, has worked for many years in the food and beverage industry, including as a lead banquet captain at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.
A longtime supporter of legalization, Lantzy pled guilty to possession of three grams of marijuana in Bellevue in 1999. She served 24 hours of jail time, 80 hours of community service – mostly at the humane society – and paid $4,000 in fines.
If the state ultimately grants her a license, but the town of Garfield decides not to allow her business, she said she would consider her options.
“I would probably look at every option. If I had to sue the town to get my license I would,” she said. “I don’t want to but if the state says yes and the town says no, then I’d have to get legal counsel involved.”
If her business is approved, would she be a customer?
“Oh yes,” Lantzy said.
She indicated she doesn’t know when to expect word back from the state on her application.
“I have no idea,” she said. “They’re overwhelmed. I don’t think they realized the response they’d get.”
Overall, she is excited by the prospects.
“There’s a huge potential for profit here,” Lantzy said.
After the public meeting Monday, Mayor McCown said the pulse of the town is still hard to decipher.
“I haven’t figured out the consensus yet,” he said. “Most people are not in favor of it but don’t know how to resist it either… You can cry foul all the time then the state comes in and says this is what it’s gonna be.”
The planning and zoning committee will now hold one more (committee) meeting as they design a recommendation to the city council.
From there, the council may vote to allow it, declare a moratorium or an outright ban.
“If in the case of a ban, that doesn’t mean the state won’t still issue the license,” McCown said. “It’s all in the control of the Liquor Control Board.”
All told, the mayor had previously said the town might receive less tax money from the Liquor Control Board if they ban marijuana operation in town.
“I don’t think that will happen,” McCown said Tuesday. “Because we haven’t passed an ordinance.”
Mayor McCown said he expects the planning and zoning committee to submit their recommendation in the next two weeks.
“When it comes down to it, most of the people really don’t want it,” McCown said. “But (Lantzy) appears sincere and wants to do a good job, and if it’s a situation where we have to have it, maybe it’s better with her than someone else.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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