A top rule for any real estate decision is “location, location, location.” But when you’re opening a medical marijuana dispensary, it is not so much about where the ideal location might be, but rather where city regulations will allow you to set up shop.
In Vero Beach, that location is alongside the railroad tracks, crammed between an aged and vacant office building and an architectural design firm on Commerce Avenue – about halfway between Blue Octopus Antiques and Como Oil and Gas. Other businesses in the industrial-zoned area include a paint and body shop and a tow truck yard.
Despite the less than picturesque setting, Clear Water-based medical marijuana company Trulieve plans to set up its newest dispensary in a nondescript 3,400-square-foot building at 1814 Commerce Ave. within the next few months – the first anywhere on the Treasure Coast – provided it gets a building permit and certificate of occupancy in a timely manner, Trulieve representative Adam Garff told Vero News.
The Vero Beach Planning and Zoning Board unanimously supported Garff’s site plan application last week, clearing the way for Trulieve to move ahead with its plans. Because no variances from pot shop location rules written in 2014 were sought, City Council approval is not required.
The next step for Trulieve is to submit renovation plans and blueprints to the city building department showing details of the changes the company intends to make to the building. Once those plans are approved, a building permit will be issued.
Trulieve won’t change the exterior of the faded brick building, other than adding signage that will show the company’s name and list rules against loitering. Inside, interior walls will be removed and a 1,225-square-foot shop location will be framed in at the north end of the structure.
The rest of the building will be left vacant because of parking limitations at the site. With just seven parking spaces, the maximum size the dispensary can be under city regulations is 1,225 square feet.
Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment last fall that made medical marijuana legal, and the state regulates most aspects of dispensary operations, but local governments have oversight regarding location.
In Vero Beach, medical marijuana dispensaries are not allowed within 1,000 feet of schools, daycare centers, parks and other dispensaries. Nor are they allowed within 500 feet of residential zoned land.
The shops are further hemmed in by zoning restrictions.
Vero Planning Director Tim McGarry told the zoning board and the small audience that gathered last week for the hearing that, during the public hearing process in 2014 and subsequent meetings, representatives from all other zoning districts voiced opposition to having medical marijuana shops in their areas. Industrial zoned business and property owners did not speak out, he said, which led to the dispensaries being located there.
“It got pushed into the industrial areas,” zoning board member Lawrence Lauffer said.
Garff said the 1814 Commerce Ave. property was the only available site that met the City’s criteria when Trulieve scouted potential locations here, and McGarry said with all the restrictions that have been put in place, it is unlikely a second dispensary could find a home within the Vero Beach city limits.
While it might make more sense for a medical marijuana dispensary to be located near other medical facilities, on or near 37th Street, Garff said the industrial location won’t be a problem for Trulieve.
Those who purchase marijuana products at the facility will do so at the recommendation of their doctor and walk-in traffic will not be a consideration. There will be no signage on the building marking it as a dispensary. Instead, the sign will only show the company name, Trulieve. Garff said those not in the know won’t even be aware the building is a dispensary.
He said the dispensary will be stocked with prepackaged products that include cannabis oils and capsules. Smokable marijuana may also be available.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, “Florida law bans patients from smoking the substance, but doesn’t prohibit vendors from selling marijuana buds meant for use in vaporizers – but which also can be smoked in joints, pipes or other delivery devices.”
According to the paper, Trulieve started selling buds at its other five Florida dispensaries last week “just days after lawmakers failed to reach agreement” on comprehensive state pot shop regulations.
Garff said all marijuana products will be secured in a separate room that will have odor control devices. Trulieve will also be required to have lighted “No Loitering” signs, provide an armed security guard during business hours, and have alarms and emergency call buttons throughout the dispensary. No consumption of marijuana or alcohol will be allowed on the premises.
Per city rules, the dispensary will be allowed to operate between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
Trulieve is one of seven medical marijuana dispensary companies approved to operate in Florida. It has five dispensary locations now, in Clearwater, Tallahassee, Tampa, Pensacola and Miami, with another 21 locations – including Vero, Port St. Lucie and Palm Bay – listed as “coming soon” on its website
