GREENFIELD — After clearing its chairwoman Shannon O’Brien of any stake in ownership, the state Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) approved the final license for Greenfield Greenery LLC, an outdoor cultivation site planned on Leyden Road.
“Having done the due diligence and having the report, I’m happy to see … we’ll have another outdoor farm,” Commissioner Kimberly Roy said during a Jan. 12 meeting. “In Massachusetts, we have a very finite number of outdoor farms. … New England is a tough place climate-wise to be able to have outdoor crops.”
The grow facility, located at 493 Leyden Road, received a special permit from city officials for its Tier 11 outdoor cultivation site in June 2021. Tier 11 allows for grow sites with up to 100,000 square feet of canopy, which is the largest size possible for a cultivation site in Massachusetts. The farm is co-owned by Randy and Angie Facey of Bree-Z-Knoll Farm in Leyden.
Randy Facey previously said they were prepared to have a crop last year but were unable to start because of the licensing delay.
The commission approved the license 3-0 on Jan. 12, with O’Brien recusing herself. Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion was absent.
In October, Director of Licensing Kyle Potvin clarified for commissioners that while O’Brien, chair of the Cannabis Control Commission and an Easthampton native, was included as an owner of Greenfield Greenery LLC for the 2021 vote on a provisional license, she was not listed as an owner as of October. Randy Facey previously explained O’Brien left the group on Nov. 24, 2021, after which he and his wife filed for a change of ownership to add a new owner.
Still, commissioners were hesitant at the time to vote in support of a license “without all the information” before them. In favor of allowing its staff time to gather information pertaining to a change of ownership application, the CCC voted in October to remand the application for final licensing. In particular, commissioners wanted to have a staff recommendation with respect to the change of ownership application before voting on the final license.
Asked whether O’Brien has any stake in the ownership of Greenfield Greenery LLC, Potvin said that in O’Brien’s personal capacity, she “does not have an ownership stake over this license any longer.”
Commissioners were appreciative of the extra time staff members put into reviewing the change of ownership.
“I just want to thank you again to the team that was part of this process,” Commissioner Nurys Camargo said during the Jan. 12 meeting. “There were a lot of questions, a lot of hard questions and a lot of unanswered questions.”
Efforts to reach the Faceys for more information were unsuccessful by press time on Wednesday.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.