CENTREVILLE, MD. - Residents in Centreville are raising concerns over an ongoing odor issue emanating from Green Thumb Industries (GTI), sparking numerous complaints and prompting town officials to address the matter.
Following a town council meeting on Sept. 21, the Centerville Town Council granted GTI a 90-day period to formulate a plan aimed at mitigating the persistent smell resulting from the marijuana processing activities. Those 90 days were up and a presentation was done on Thursday Jan. 4.
In the Symphony Village neighborhood, located less than a mile from GTI, residents have voiced their displeasure at the continuous scent of marijuana lingering in the air.
Bob Eaves, a Symphony Village resident, remarked, "Often times, it's very noticeable first thing in the morning when you leave the house. So, it's quite noticeable, and it's not a pleasant aroma. And it's something that lingers."
Laura Bittinger, another resident in Symphony Village, expressed frustration, stating, "We can't open our windows. Our house smells like we smoke cannabis. It's offensive."
These grievances have been previously presented to the council, leading to the 90-day timeframe given to GTI to devise a plan to curtail the smell. In December, GTI submitted plans to the council, which included the implementation of various air filtration systems. Council President Ashley Kaiser expressed optimism that these measures would provide a solution to the problem.
"They are allowed to exist as they were approved to exist today, and so it's my hope that we work with them and address the smell," Kaiser stated. She added, "I would expect to be meeting with them in the spring to see where we are with these mitigation efforts."
Residents in Symphony Village share the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of GTI being a good neighbor while recognizing the legitimacy of the industry.
"I have no problem with the industry itself. I just think they need to figure out how to be a good neighbor," noted Bittinger.
Kaiser also mentioned an ordinance proposed by some council members to prevent GTI from expanding their outdoor operations, assuming the smell originated from outside. However, GTI told Kaiser that the odor arises from inside the facility. So Kaiser explained the proposed ordinance would be ineffective. Despite this, she expressed the council's commitment to ongoing efforts to address and mitigate the marijuana smell in collaboration with GTI.
During Thursday's meeting, Green Thumb Industries' representatives Rebecca Brown, Joe Stevens, and Jeremy Kacuba presented before the council that they took a look into figuring out where the smell was coming from at the GTI facility. Kacuba said the odor was coming from 'concentrated processes within the facility.' He explained when they bring the plants down from the harvest time and then dry those plants to allow for further processing, that's where the smell is coming from.
To mitigate the smell, GTI's plans included using static filtration with carbon filters that would be changed frequently with consistent testing to ensure efficacy. Kacuba went on to say the mitigation systems that would be in place could take up to 2 months. Then they would need a month worth of testing to make sure the system would preform correctly and then they would go through on-going monitoring. Kacuba assured by Memorial Day they hope to have their capitol equipment installed and running.
After deliberation, the Centreville Council decided to withdraw the proposed ordinance.
For a list of GTI's ideas that was sent to the council click here.