Medical marijuana company scraps plan to place facility in Phoenix

PHOENIX — A medical marijuana company has withdrawn its request to place a marijuana cultivation and infusion facility near a Deer Valley neighborhood.

Tryke Companies had been seeking a variance from Phoenix’s Planning and Zoning Department to allow the 20-acre facility to be built on a plot of land across from the Boulder Creek neighborhood near Deer Valley Road and 22nd Street.

After a public outcry, Tryke withdrew its request last week.

“People were concerned about the nature of the business, I think also (the) potential smell, odor from an agricultural facility,” said Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring, who represents the area.

Tryke needed approval to build the facility because the city’s zoning laws require medical marijuana cultivation facilities to be at least 1,000 feet from any neighborhood. The facility would have been located roughly half that distance from the nearest home on the opposite side of a Central Arizona Project canal.

Tryke also needed a second variance to be able to infuse medical marijuana on the same site where it is cultivated.

After losing the original hearing and an appeal, nearby home and business owners continued to fight to have the variances denied over the course of three months. Waring said he’s pleased to see the plan scrapped.

“I thought its proximity to not just neighbors, but churches and schools — I just thought it was a bad fit for that area,” he said. “I thought the neighbors did a good job of expressing that.”

Attempts to reach the company’s attorney were unsuccessful.