A Summit County judge has thrown out Akron's approval of a marijuana dispensary planned for the former CVS building in Merriman Valley, voiding a conditional-use permit the city granted earlier this year. The ruling halts Firelands Scientific's plan to open a shop called The Landing at 1140 W. Portage Trail, the second time the company's attempt to open an Akron dispensary has fallen apart.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Christine Croce ruled that Akron City Council's vote to grant Firelands Scientific the permit was illegal and arbitrary, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. A search-result excerpt tied to the same report indicates Croce issued her ruling on Nov. 3. The decision effectively strips the permit the council had awarded for the proposed dispensary.
How the Permit Got Approved in the First Place
Council had granted that permit after a lengthy and contentious process. Members voted 7-5 in favor of the project on Jan. 29, according to Signal Akron. The legislation that passed included conditions addressing traffic, private-road access and neighborhood impacts, the outlet reported.
Before it reached council, the proposal cleared Akron's Planning Commission, which voted 3-2 to recommend approval, the Beacon Journal's December report noted. The commission reviewed the plan for 3,000 square feet of retail cannabis sales space inside the vacant CVS store, per Signal Akron's account of filings from OPC Cultivation LLC, the company operating as Firelands Scientific.
Neighbors Pushed Back Hard
Opposition from nearby residents was a defining feature of the approval process. Seven neighbors spoke against the plan at the Planning Commission hearing, and most were residents of the Waters Edge Condominiums situated behind the proposed site, the Beacon Journal reported. One of those residents, Jennifer Konstand, told the commission she had canvassed 71 households in the complex and found that 63 opposed the dispensary, seven were neutral and only one supported it.
Akron's Department of Planning & Urban Development had said Firelands expected to serve about 225 customers a day at the location. The same NAR-sourced figure cited by Firelands' general counsel during the approval process held that nearly 80% of survey respondents reported no change or indifference regarding residential property values near dispensaries, according to Signal Akron's coverage of the council debate.
A Second Strikeout for Firelands in Akron
The Merriman Valley fight was not Firelands' first swing at an Akron storefront. The company, doing business as OPC Cultivation LLC, had previously sought to open a dual-use cannabis dispensary at 730 W. Market St. in Highland Square before withdrawing that petition, Signal Akron reported. Akron's Planning Commission had recommended against that Highland Square request in mid-June, and Oriana House, which provides court-ordered alcohol and substance use disorder treatment at offices across the street from the proposed site, had opposed the plan.
With the Highland Square bid withdrawn and the Merriman Valley permit now voided by the court, Firelands has struck out twice on finding a home for a planned Akron dispensary. Not every cannabis proposal in the city has run into the same resistance: the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend council approve a separate Wallhaven dispensary proposal from Klutch Cannabis, according to the Beacon Journal's December report.
