Hoquiam pot-growing operation looks unlikely

After six parcels of land on Bay Avenue were rezoned for industrial use at Monday night’s Hoquiam City Council meeting, it now looks as though the initial plan to house a marijuana-growing operation at the location has fallen through, at least for now.

Hoquiam City Administrator Brian Shay received an email from Gershom Spengler on Tuesday afternoon saying a deal with a grower will not take place, although Spengler said he would like to work with another tenant at the location.

Spengler is listed as the owner on Forever Green Farms. Forever Green was a prospective buyer of some of the land that was rezoned at Monday night’s meeting. Making the land industrial would allow a marijuana-growing operation.

The land is located at the southeast corner at the intersection of Bay Avenue and Ontario Street, near the former Harbor Paper Mill.

In the email from Spengler to Shay, Spengler said the plan didn’t work out due to licensing issues, which hampered funding for the project. Spengler said he was “enormously disappointed” by the setback.

Councilman David Wilson, as well as one resident who spoke out during public comment, opposed the possibility of having a grow site at the location at Monday’s meeting.

Attorney Wayne Hagen said at Monday night’s council meeting that the owners of the rezoned properties wanted the land to be switched from commercial to industrial. Gale Dahlstrom owns five of the parcels while Saga Family owns the other, according to the Grays Harbor Assessor’s Office.

On Monday, before learning of the setback, Shay said he understood that the operation as it had been proposed would create 21 jobs.