Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2016
Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Desert Sun
Contact:  http://www.desertsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112
Note: Does not accept LTEs from outside circulation area.
Author: Anna Rumer

COACHELLA APPROVES FIRST MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITY

Coachella City Council chambers were packed Wednesday night as local 
residents gathered to get a peek at the city's first-approved medical 
marijuana facility.

City Council voted unanimously - Councilmember Manuel Perez was not 
in attendance - to approve the 111,500-square-foot marijuana 
cultivation and manufacturing facility proposed by Irvine-based 
Cultivation Technologies Inc.

The facility, which will be located on six acres of land at 84-811 
Avenue 48, will consist of two buildings, research labs, four indoor 
22,000 square-foot cultivation fields and 9,000 square feet 
designated for manufacturing.

It will also be home to the new brand of medical marijuana products 
dubbed "Coachella Premium Cannabis" which, according to a video 
presentation played by Cultivation Technologies, will become the 
Johnnie Walker of pot products.

Cultivation Technologies Inc. President Justin Beck said he was 
thrilled to receive the city's approval after more than a year's work 
to establish his flagship facility.

"I'm really proud to be part of the city of Coachella," Beck said.

Beck said more than 120 jobs will be created when the facility is 
constructed, at least 25 percent of which are planned to be Coachella 
residents.

Construction is slated to begin within the next few weeks and is 
expected to be completed in November.

In order to operate within Coachella, Cultivation Technologies Inc. 
will be required to pay an estimated $4 million a year to the city 
four percent of cultivation gross receipts, two percent of 
manufacturing gross receipts and about $1 million in facility fees.

"This industry is very, very new and all eyes are on Coachella in the 
state of California," Mayor Steven Hernandez said. "We need to be not 
a gold standard but a platinum standard."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom