Riverside delays vote on land sale for growing medical marijuana

Riverside city council delayed a vote Thursday night on whether to sell 7 acres of city-owned land for a proposed marijuana cultivation site seeking approval from the state.

If approved, the measure would allow the city manager to enter into an agreement to sell the land, the so-called Center of Flight site off of Springfield Street near the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, for $20,000 an acre.

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The sale would be contingent upon the company, Farms of Riverside LLC, obtaining a license to cultivate medical marijuana from the state.

Farms of Riverside is one of 109 companies listed by the state as filing an application for a Level 1 application, meaning it could initially grow up to 25,000 square feet. Another 76 companies applied for a Level II license to grow up to 3,000 square feet.

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State law allows for only a dozen of each license to be approved statewide.

Riverside City Manager Mark Carpenter said the city has long looked for a use for the vacant property, and the indoor cultivation facility — which would need to be built — could bring 50 to 70 jobs.

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