Grants City Council Meeting

GRANTS, NM – The Grants City Council meeting on January 25 was packed and had a bumpy start. Mayor Erik Garcia and Councilmen Fred Rodarte and Zachery Gutierrez were present at the start of the meeting. Councilman George “Gunny” Garcia was temporarily absent for personal reasons, and Councilwoman Beverly Michael was also temporarily absent as she made her way back to Grants.

Numerous topics were on the agenda, but the first item pertained to La Mota Dispensary appealing the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a conditional use permit. La Mota applied to open a marijuana dispensary at 101 E. Lincoln Ave across First Street from the Grants City Library.

Quorum Conundrum

Concerning the appeal by La Mota, Mayor Garcia would have to recuse himself from the discussion, however, if Mayor Garcia recused himself there would no longer be a quorum because only two members of council would be left. The conversation moved to possibly moving the La Mota item further down the agenda and possibly contacting Councilwoman Michael by phone.

After consulting with City Attorney Nixon, a motion was made, and then approved, to move the La Mota item further down the agenda until Beverly Michael could be reached. The city council then went to executive session and entered executive session, where discussions are held outside of public view but no action is taken.

When council returned from the executive session, communication with Councilwoman Michael had been made and she was on her way to the meeting; Councilman Garcia was on the phone which established a quorum. No action was taken during the Executive Session.

With Councilman Garcia on the phone, a motion was made to rearrange the agenda again so the La Mota issue could move forward and citizen comments could commence. The motion passed for the agenda change and Mayor Erik Garcia recused himself from the La Mota conditional use permit topic. Councilman Fred Rodarte was made “interim Mayor Pro Tem” in Councilman Garcia’s absence.

La Mota

City Code Enforcement Officer Robert Windhorst opened the discussion to explain the appeal process. Mr. Windhorst went on to state that businesses denied a conditional use permit can appeal to the city council within 30-days, which La Mota did, and if denied by the city the business can appeal to district court. Windhorst stated six letters went out to business owners within 100 ft of the proposed site of the dispensary; four businesses objected during public comments at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on December 14, 2022.

Although La Mota is in compliance with three of the four conditions of Land Use Code, the third, which states the business will be in harmony with the area in which is located falls short. Mr. Windhorst said, “denial was made due to the concerns and complaints of the property owners in 100 feet [of the proposed site]”.

It’s not only neighboring businesses opposing the site for a new dispensary, but the Grants Public Library, which sits directly across the street from the proposed dispensary. Robert Windhorst read a letter written by Library Director Nadine Jiron. In the letter, she wrote her biggest concern was the safety of all library user, but especially children. Her concern is the library will become a drop-off area for kids as adults go across the street for purchases. She stated various concerns, but the safety of children was her main priority. Ms. Jiron went on to state she is not against the dispensary itself but is opposed to the location.

La Mota NM LLC Fred Voelkel issued a rebuttal as to why the dispensary should be allowed at 101 Lincoln Ave. Mr. Voelkel reasoned all state and local rules, laws, and regulations were followed. He stated La Mota followed all of the procedures and the dispensary should be approved. During La Mota’s rebuttal, Councilwoman Beverly Michael entered the meeting which made it a full quorum as she took her seat.

Public comment opened with nine speakers waiting to speak; it was during public comments Councilman George Garcia entered the chambers and took his seat. The major objection from residents centered around the location and amount of traffic caused by youth around the proposed location. Community member Les Gaines mentioned the police department did not move closer to the library for safety reasons, “But we can put a pot shop there.”

After public comments La Mota clarified they are willing to work with the community to find reasonable solutions. CEO of La Mota, Rosa Cazares, asked how they can improve safety around their business. She voiced that La Mota was being treated unfairly by the city.

During discussion and action, Councilwoman Beverly Michael questioned why a particular dispensary did not have to go through the same process as La Mota – she would not mention the “particular dispensaries” name. She ran a clinic centered on counseling, focusing on trauma-based therapy, and the smell from ventilating the grow room would permeate the building and parking lot as children receiving counseling were present. Councilwoman Michael said she filed an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) on the location and discovered the business did not go before Planning and Zoning and to this day operates without ever having obtained a conditional use permit. “I’m unhappy to see these levels of inconsistency with enforcement” she said.

Councilor George Garcia stated, “That area is not a good place. If you want harmony in the community, that’s the worst place to have it.” He also stated the community does not want it there, and Grants should not be the test case for this new industry and should instead be doing what is in the best interest of the community. “You [have] vacation bible school, kid summer programs, other programs, sports yearround and that’s why it’s not a good place. Any other place in the community would be better.” The councilman stated.

When Councilman Garcia asked why they chose that particular building La Mota answered “We chose that building on the ordinances that the City of Grants created.”

Councilor Gutierrez stated, “It’s hard not to bring feelings into your hometown, and side with the people who live here. We have to have all of the pieces in the right spot. We’re not picking and choosing, but we have the right to say it doesn’t work for us.”

Councilman Rodarte spoke about the other licensed dispensaries in Grants. “Up to this point, I have heard no complaints about any of the others. I’ve had no feedback. No one has complained to me or said no one wants them there. This is the only place that we’ve had continual feedback that it is not wanted in that location.” He also informed La Mota “One of the things we do as councilors, is we listen to our constituents. And if there’s a big enough voice, we have to listen to them.”

Amotion to deny the appeal was made and seconded.

The appeal was denied by a vote of 3-1; Councilwoman Michael was the sole vote to approve the dispensary.