Hanford still receiving interest from medical marijuana companies as it moves forward with ordinance change

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tuesday night, leaders of one South Valley city are continuing the conversation about medical marijuana.

Hanford is moving forward with changing their rules as it relates to allowing medical marijuana cultivation within the city's industrial zone.

This comes about a month after Purple Heart Patient Center pulled out of a proposal to bring large-scale medical marijuana cultivation to Hanford's old Pirelli tire factory.

The company cited real estate deadlines, the city council's hesitation about the project, and ultimately, city council's choice to hold off on issuing permits until late 2018 as reasons for their decision to look elsewhere.

"I think it did definitely bring forth a sense of urgency, recognizing that Hanford's not the only agency considering this particular industry and that other communities are going to seek the employment opportunity and potential tax revenue that comes along with it," said Hanford City Manager Darrel Pyle.

Purple Heart isn't the only medical marijuana company that has considered Hanford.

In March, San Jose-based Caliva sent Pyle a letter proposing cultivation inside nearly 200,000 square-feet of cannabis canopy in Hanford's industrial zone.

Another company called Hanford Gardens is proposing cultivation, extraction, and lab testing inside 48 different buildings.

Both companies tout their ability to create good paying jobs, and provide substantial tax revenue for the city. But both are also asking city leaders to give them a permit this year, so they can apply for a state permit next year.

"With the letters from the industry indicating that a permit's really going to be necessary for (them) to advance in (our) community, in the calendar year 2017, I think council now recognizes why that is a timing issue of importance," Pyle said.

City staff is already in talks with HdL, a Southern California company that Pyle says specializes in drafting medical marijuana ordinances and permitting processes.

If council signs off on a partnership with the company tonight, Pyle says staff will get to work with them right away, to speed up the complicated process of crafting Hanford's medical marijuana rules.