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Item
8.01
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Other
Information
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On June 14,
2018, KAYS issued a press release (a copy of which is filed herewith as
Exhibit 99.1
and incorporated herein by reference)
announcing that it will be filing an appeal against the denial of its Kaya Farms™ AG. Facility Site Plan application by
the Linn County, Oregon Planning Commission (the “
Commission
”). As previously reported, KAYS acquired a 26-acre
property in Lebanon. Oregon, on which it intends to develop its Kaya Farms™ Marijuana Grow and Manufacturing Complex and
had filed necessary zoning and permit applications with respect thereto as outlined below.
On February
9, 2018, KAYS submitted a site plan review for the Company’s envisioned 101,000 square foot OLCC licensed Kaya Farms™
Marijuana Grow and Manufacturing Complex (the “
Site Plan
”) and an application for a conditional use permit
for marijuana processing on the Company owned 26.50-acre property zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) with the Linn County, Oregon
Planning and Building Department (the “
Department
”).
On March 9,
2018, the Company was notified by the Department that the application was deemed complete and received an official letter of completeness
with respect to the application. The formal “
Letter of Completeness
” sent March 9, 2018 by a Linn County Senior
Planner, confirmed the eligibility of the Company’s 26-acre parcel for the purposes of growing legal cannabis, as well as
the eligibility of the property for a special purpose exemption for the Company’s proposed manufacturing operations.
On April 20,
2018. the Company was notified by the Department that the site plan review for the indoor and outdoor marijuana operation on the
26.50-acre property (which encompasses approximately 86,000 square feet of the Company’s 101,000 square feet of the Company’s
submitted buildings) had been approved (the “
Approval
”). However, the conditional use permit for marijuana
processing (which encompasses approximately 15,000 square feet of the Company’s 101,000 square feet of the Company’s
submitted buildings) had been denied, largely due to the scale and coverage of the proposed processing operation.
On May 3,
2018, the Department notified the Company that an area resident had filed an appeal of the Department’s Approval (the “
Appeal
”)
on the grounds that a portion of the approved Site Plan that supports the 36,000 square feet of greenhouses for outdoor growing
is not eligible for the irrigation rights that the Company possesses for the property.
The Company
reviewed the Department’s initial confirmation that the Company had complied with the requirements to show how it will provide
water to the property (which includes registering the irrigation rights and filing for a place of use transfer to exercise the
water rights, as well as confirmed that it has viable alternatives for sourcing water from private water carriers and other legally
acceptable alternatives until such time as the irrigation rights were confirmed as well as to supplement the irrigation rights
after they are confirmed) and is confident that the Company’s water usage plan is legal.
On May 14,
2018, the Department notified the Company that a hearing was scheduled before the Commission for June 12, 2018, to review the
Appeal and the original Approval from the Department. At the hearing the Department entered its report regarding the Project and
the Department’s review and Approval of the Site Plan.
On June 12,
2018, the Company attended the hearing. The Company made a presentation on the Project to the Commission and entered numerous
documents into the record in the event that further appeals by the Company would be necessary to get the Project approved. After
listening to testimony from area residents regarding their concerns and why they wanted the Approval reversed, the Commission
had a brief discussion which centered chiefly on one Commissioner’s representation that he had visited a grow before and
that the odor was bad and that no one wants to live next to an operation like that. Subsequent to the discussion, the Commission
voted to reverse the Department’s Approval and deny the Company’s Site Plan for the indoor and outdoor marijuana operation
on the 26.50-acre property (which encompasses approximately 86,000 square feet of the Company’s 101,000 square feet of the
Company’s submitted buildings).
As noted in
its June 14, 2018 press release, the Company intends to proceed with the appeals process and is confident that based on the rule
of law and the facts and circumstances of the case, the denial will be overturned on appeal and that pursuant to Oregon law the
Company will be granted the right to farm a legally recognized agricultural crop on its properly zoned 26-acre parcel.
The following documents relevant to
the application and land use process procedure for our 26-acre property can be found online at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2acc12mow6vq3pp/AAAvFzgYgayDanGLrfGQkzaEa?dl=0:
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Proposed Site Plan submitted
to Linn County for Review
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Kaya Farms Conditional
Use Application for Processing Facility
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Site Plan Approval (Grow)
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Denial of Processing
Facility
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Area Resident Appeals
Project Approval; Hearing Scheduled for June 12, 2018
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Lynn County Planning
Kaya Farms Staff Report to Planning Commission
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