An application for a Special Use Permit for a new medical marijuana dispensary in the vacant building to the east of Torchy’s bar at 704 East Dewey failed to receive a motion from City Council on Monday evening, and therefore, no action was taken.
Urban Development Director Nikki Howard reported her recommendations to the Council, saying that the applicant Mike McSweeney and his wife Monica, co-owners of Zen Budz (on Teel, just west of Main), “put the medicinal in ‘medicinal marijuana,’” with their inclusion of counseling services alongside retail sales. She said “I have heard nothing but really, really good things about their dispensary. And we don’t always hear good things.”
Howard said that as existing owners, the McSweeneys are very familiar with the multitude of conditions that go along with operating a dispensary, and reported that the Planning Commission unanimously approved the application at their May 4th meeting.
Councilor Richard Hudson asked if the applicants would close their current location if this application were to be approved, and Mr. McSweeney replied in the affirmative.
Councilor John Suggs asked him to please “speak to the counseling” aspect of the business. McSweeney replied that their objective is to “focus as much as possible on the medicinal part” of the business, particularly for those “who are just getting into cannabis.”
After the brief question-and-answer session, the 9 city councilors in attendance sat silently, in apparent contemplation, neither asking Howard or the applicant further questions nor making a motion to approve or deny the application.
Finally, City Attorney David Widdoes announced that the motion “died,” and the next agenda item was heard.
This is an extremely rare occurrence and was perplexing to most in attendance, including the applicant, particularly because of the application’s approval from City staff, including Howard, and the Planning Commission.
At the Planning Commission meeting, Monica explained that they need a new location to have ample room for the counseling part of their business. This involves private and sometimes emotional discussions, and she “needs space to pull someone aside to do a treatment plan so it’s more confidential.”
“We want to improve the dispensary as well,” stated Mrs. McSweeny. “We’re truly a medicinal dispensary. We offer something different and unique to the City of Sapulpa.” She said, “My family has been impacted by the opiate crisis and my heart is in it more than most.”
Additionally, the applicants want to improve the building and “to be part of the Route 66 and downtown expansion.”
The Planning Commissioners’ primary concern was the facility’s proximity to Torchy’s, however, Howard reminded them that many other dispensaries near bars have been approved, and several examples were given.
Commissioner Julie Longoria told the McSweeneys, “I like your philosophy and where you’re coming from.”
At the end of the City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Carla Gunn asked for clarification and guidance on how the McSweeneys should proceed with their “dead” application. Widdoes said that “it’s up to the applicant to bring it back” to another meeting, so he should speak to his city councilors (Gunn and Brian Stephens from Ward 2) and appeal to them to ask the Mayor to put it on the next meeting’s agenda.
At the meeting’s conclusion, Mayor Craig Henderson, Gunn, and Stephens each approached McSweeney, to apologize for the confusion and to ask him to get in touch with them so they could learn more about his plans.
Gunn says she was uncomfortable with the inaction at the meeting. “I felt like that was wrong. But the Mayor has put it back on the next agenda. Let’s at least vote on it, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Gunn told Sapulpa Times on Wednesday that the application will be heard again at the next regular City Council meeting on June 7th.
A post on a local social media forum claims that another local dispensary owner is “shady,” and that this person has “made it clear to the City of Sapulpa that no other dispensary is now allowed to be built. The owner literally sits at the city planning commission and makes sure his pets don’t vote in new businesses.” The post further said, “I watched this happen at the last planning board meeting. The owners of an existing dispensary tried to get a new location and that [expletive] told them not [sic] allow an existing dispensary, a new location.”
The author of the post is unclear as is the date of the meeting where they allegedly witnessed a private business owner dictate to the City Council or City Staff whether or not they could approve of any dispensary, particularly the McSweeneys’.
McSweeney is frustrated with the outcome, and concerned about the allegations mentioned above. He said that in the days following the meeting he contacted several people to get an answer on what to do next, and that no one gave him a clear answer, nor was he given a satisfactory explanation for the inaction. “No complaints or concerns [about us or our business] have come up,” he said. “All I wanted was an approval.”
