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172
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C ali forn ia’s Olde st Ne w spaper
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Volume 172 • Issue 136 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
Monday, November 27, 2023
Joint interest litigant wants 3rd pot shop Odin Rasco Staff writer
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A business partnership that had plans to open a marijuana dispensary in Placerville went up in smoke when its application to open was not approved by the city’s selection process has offered a “win-win resolution” to its ongoing legal dispute with the local government. The proposed resolution was laid out in a letter sent to the Placerville City Council, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, Police Chief Joseph Wren and other parties by Max Del Real, a Sacramentobased lobbyist and business consultant who has worked in the commercial cannabis industry for 15 years. Del Real is a partner in TMG Placerville LLC, doing business as TREZ Placerville, one of the 13 businesses that applied to open a dispensary in Placerville in late April 2019. Though TREZ was not selected as one of the final applicants, Del Real is asking to make a new deal after one of the three pot shops approved to open failed to get off the ground. Shortly after Californians approved Proposition 64 in 2016, the council began discussions regarding what shape legal marijuana business operations might take in the city. Discussions led to the Oct. 9, 2018, passage of Ordinance
1694, which opened the door for a total of three pot shops to open in the city after being vetted by a selection process. The city brought consultant HdL Companies on to conduct initial steps of the application process. Thirteen applicants made it into the selection process by the April 29, 2019, deadline, though complaints the vetting system was half-baked popped up soon after. Errors made by applicants that were moved on to later steps in the scoring process led to other applicants crying foul. Some applicants that would have been sifted out in phase one appealed, including Reserve House and Chuck’s Wellness, who ultimately snagged two of the three viedfor permits to conduct business. Sacred Roots’ chosen location was also a point of contention for some during the selection process. Though the map produced by the city indicating approved potential locations for a pot shop included the space Sacred Roots selected, the store was closer to a church and school than the language in Ordinance 1694 allowed. Sacred Roots’ 651 Main St., location is 186 feet “as the crow flies” from Sierra School, and 190 feet of similar avian navigation from Federated Church. The business applied for, and received, a special variance from the city Planning Commission in a 3-2 vote, with special consideration given to the topography of the area that obfuscates a direct view of the building and prolongs the foot traffic required to walk from one site to the other. Not all were happy with the variance being awarded; the principal of Sierra School spoke against it, and Del Real filed a $400 appeal against the decision on behalf of TREZ. “In my 12 years as a n See Litigation, page A6
Mountain Democrat photos by Eric Jaramishian
The Castro family of Sacramento, including Brooke, Quinn, Richard, Ricquel, her boyfriend Aaron Derouin and Kelly, walk down the hill of Crystal Creek Tree Farm in Camino before Thanksgiving after picking the right tree for Christmastime.
Christmas tree cutting tradition a
memory maker
Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
C
rystal Creek Tree Farm was the location for a special occasion last week. A couple from Lincoln, Zackary Kammerer and Elizabeth Hartung, traveled to Camino for Hartung’s birthday Nov. 21 to choose and cut a Christmas tree, a tradition she has held since moving to Northern California. What Hartung didn’t know was Kammerer, in collaboration with wedding planner Amy Varain and Crystal Creek, would guide her up a hill at the Christmas tree farm following a path of green ornaments and signs before proposing matrimony. “I grew up on a Christmas tree farm (in Wisconsin),” Hartung said. “This year is the 80th anniversary of my grandpa’s Christmas tree farm. This will be a special memory for me.” Krammerer and a soon-to-be Kammerer are two people creating special memories and traditions in the Apple Hill region this holiday season. Folks from Northern California and beyond make the trip to El Dorado County for the experience of cutting their own Christmas tree surrounded by the forest scenery of the Sierra Nevada. “We create memories, like this one right here,” said Dee Kobervig, whose family owns Crystal Creek. “(Elizabeth) remembers her family farm, and she will remember this day too.” Crystal Creek, which opened Nov. 19 along with other area Christmas tree farms, opened
Zachary Kammerer proposes to Elizabeth Hartung on her 30th birthday at one of her favorite places, a choose-and-cut Christmas tree farm. The Lincoln couple is among many making memories at El Dorado County tree farms this holiday season. early to beat the rush of afterThanksgiving tree hunters. Kelly Castro and family traveled from Sacramento to the foothills to cut their tree while they are all together for the holiday. “We started doing this when the kids got older,” Castro said. “We think it’s beautiful out here and we love to come out and enjoy the scenery and smell the fresh pines.” Military families and those with children in school are the target customer base for these early-bird farms, farm owners have said. “We have had a lot of people come in this year and thank us
for being open, because their kids are home from college and they wanted to get their tree and get it up before they have to go back to school after Thanksgiving and don’t come home until Christmas,” Kobervig said. Last year, Christmas tree farms were hit with late spring frosts and dealt with the consequences of excessive heat and drought. With a cooler spring and more than enough rain to saturate the crops in 2023, Christmas tree farm owners said they had a “fantastic” growing year. Kobervig said she had the highest survival rate for her n See trees, page A5
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