Deschutes commissioners reject Alfalfa marijuana facility

Deschutes County commissioners have heard many marijuana-related business proposals in recent years, but dealt with an unusual one Wednesday. They rejected an appeal by applicants for an Alfalfa marijuana processing and production facility after their consultant was arrested for an alleged connection to an illegal marijuana grow in La Pine.

NewsChannel 21 reported on that illegal grow in February, in which drug agents seized nearly 2,000 marijuana plants. Two men, Sam Onat and Christopher Fleming, were arrested in the case.

At the time, Onat’s son, Jacob Onat , was a business partner for the applicant looking to create a marijuana grow in Alfalfa. The applicant team requested a 2-month break to prove their credibility and disprove the charges.

During that window, Jacob Onat was arrested for his alleged connection to that illegal grow in La Pine. The District Attorney has not yet filed any charges.

” This was really concerning to us as commissioners, because they were marijuana-related charges, ” said Commissioner Phil Henderson. ” The son was a partner and also was going to be in charge of the processing of this new facility in rural Deschutes County. We felt, from just a public safety basis, this is an application that can’t go through. ”

In a statement submitted to commissioners, the applicant said, “… we didn’t expect our partners to be caught up in a potentially sordid affair.”

The appellant, which in this case is Alfalfa residents who live near the proposed facility, responded by saying, “The applicant team is not just generally un-credible, they are charged with violating the laws that govern marijuana production and processing precisely.”

Henderson said, ” They had said they were relying on particularly Jacob Onat to be (the) processing person. Well, if he’s arrested, how can that move forward? It’s almost like this application would need a new life. ”

The applicants’ team did not attend Wednesday’s hearing and the appellants’ team declined to make any further comment on camera.

Henderson said commissioners had other concerns regarding the possible extraction process discussed at the new facility. He said the applicant mentioned using a risky type of butane called ntane as a solvent. Henderson said it would increase safety hazards at the facility, which was proposed in a fire-prone area.

” We’re not really here to just make this industry work for everybody that wants to get into it, ” Henderson said. ” We are here to make it work for the communities we are in, and it seemed like an overreach that way. ”

Henderson said commissioners don’t often reject such applications, but he said there were too many concerning details they could not ignore.

He noted the applicants can appeal the decision, but they would have to prove the commissioners acted unreasonably. H enderson said he felt commissioners had enough concrete evidence to validate their decision.