Garden supply store looks to add cannabis growing operation in White River Junction

By PATRICK ADRIAN

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 12-13-2022 9:51 PM

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — An expanding garden supply retailer in White River Junction is seeking approval to build a cannabis cultivation facility on Hartford Avenue to produce cannabis for the commercial retail market.

The Hartford Zoning Board of Adjustment will hold a public hearing Wednesday night for a proposal by White River Growpro, a garden supply business that specializes in products for growing cannabis. Growpro is looking to build a cannabis nursery and processing center at 788 Hartford Ave., to grow, dry, cure and package cannabis for adult recreational use.

Growpro owners Kendall Smith and Stephanie Waterman, in an application to the Zoning Board, stated that the cannabis grown at the facility would only be sold wholesale or to Vermont-licensed retail dispensaries.

The cultivation facility would be attached to a new retail store on Hartford Avenue, where Growpro plans to relocate its current business. However, the facility would be a separate operation from the retail store and would be accessible only to employees.

Smith and Waterman, who are married, said there is currently no proposal to sell the plants on-site, though they hope to someday sell live cannabis plants and seeds in their retail store. At present, Vermont law does not allow licensed cultivators to sell plants directly to the public.

“Cultivation is at the heart of what we love to do,” Waterman said. “It has been a dream of mine to have a (cannabis) nursery where I could sell my plants. Having access to high-quality genetics in seeds and plants has always been a problem (in cannabis growing).”

The couple plan to run the facility through their hemp company, Easy Green Genetix, which will apply for a state-issued cultivation license to grow and sell cannabis on the adult-use market.

The facility plans to employ “a multifaceted approach,” including containment and air filtration, to mitigate odors that might emanate from the plants. The growing rooms would be sealed shut during the daytime. An air exchange system would operate at night “in short intervals,” which would circulate the air through a “state of the art carbon filter system.”

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The drying and curing of harvested plants would occur in a separate, “fully sealed and climate controlled space.” This space would utilize a common greenhouse practice known as “vapor pressure deficit” to measure and control humidity in the room, which also helps keep the plants from releasing “volatile” gaseous compounds during the curing process.

The facility will be secured with burglar alarms and video cameras to prevent public access, in accordance with Vermont law for cannabis cultivation operations, according to the zoning application.

The cultivation business is intended to help fund Growpro’s relocation to Hartford Avenue, where the couple plan to build a 4,562-square-foot garden center, which will include the cultivation facility and the retail store. The new center will provide more space and allow Growpro to expand its inventory to include bulk soils, compost and mulch, as well as plants, seeds and fruit trees during the planting season.

“We are really outgrowing our britches at our current store” at 230 S. Main St. in White River Junction, Waterman said.

Since opening in 2014, Growpro has seen a growth in customers, who include commercial and home cannabis growers as well as traditional gardeners. Growpro sells supplies for a variety of indoor and outdoor horticulture, including hydroponics, a system of growing plants in a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil.

“We are packed in pretty tight and have limited parking,” Waterman stated in an informational letter to neighbors on Hartford Avenue and Wilder Street. “Our new facility will give us expanded retail space, our own dedicated parking lot and the ability to sell bulk soil, compost and mulch.”

Behind the Hartford property, Growpro plans to create a garden for educational programs and a community food resource, where foods are grown for distribution to community programs or individuals seeking food assistance.

“This long-term vision for the residential lots ties into what we are trying to accomplish on the commercial lots, though it will serve no commercial purpose,” Waterman stated in the letter. “The community will be welcome to respectfully enjoy these gardens and there will be opportunities for community members to volunteer and help maintain the gardens.”

Growpro was the first cannabis-related business to open in Hartford, though new businesses are on the horizon.

The Tea House, at 50 Woodstock Road, was the first cannabis dispensary in Hartford to receive a state retail license. The Hartford Selectboard, which serves as the local cannabis control board, must still approve a local business license before the Tea House may open.

Two other White River Junction businesses, VVS Labs and Cloudy Day Farm, have received state cultivation licenses.

The Hartford Zoning Board will hold the public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hartford Town Hall.

Patrick Adrian may be reached at 603-727-3216 or padrian@vnews.com.

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