Large Cannabis Facility Proposed Near Temecula Gets More Pushback

MURRIETA, CA — A cannabis cultivation business that proposes to construct more than a dozen greenhouses and a processing facility in DeLuz is getting pushback from the city of Murrieta.

Los Angeles-based Fuego Farms LLC wants to construct the cultivation site in the unincorporated area at 22750 Carancho Road, east of El Calamar Road, and west of Deluz Road. The site is 72.15 acres, according to California Environmental Quality Act documents.

Murrieta City Council Members Lori Stone and Lisa DeForest brought the matter forward, and on Dec. 21 a special City Council meeting was held to discuss whether the city should raise formal objections to the county about the proposed project. DeLuz is in Temecula's sphere of influence.

The proposed project includes 17 new greenhouses totaling 63,744 square feet, and one new 4,800-square-foot steel structure for crop processing, according to the CEQA documents.

Members of the public who are opposed to the project have concerns with the size and “fit” of the proposed operation within the rural DeLuz community, city documents show.

Opponents have organized and launched a website to oppose the project.

DeLuz is situated west of Temecula, not far from the unincorporated upscale Santa Rosa Plateau communities of La Cresta, Santa Rosa West and others that lie within Murrieta's sphere of influence.

"There are homes located close to the facility that some members of the public believe will be negatively impacted by the presence of the cultivation facility," city documents state. "Members of the public have also voiced their opposition to the county outlining the impacts it could have on the rural residential neighborhoods and the Santa Rosa Plateau/De Luz."

Concerns about increased traffic, water usage, noise, odor, lighting, air quality, and "potential criminal activity" associated with the project were brought up during the Dec. 21 meeting, with several members of the public speaking against the project.

During the special meeting, City Council members unanimously voted to draft a letter that asks the county to deny the conditional use permit for the project and also requests that more environmental studies be conducted before considering conditional use permit approval.

The county is expected to make a decision on the project sometime early next year. The county does not have any legal obligation to defer to Murrieta's requests.