HomeMy WebLinkAboutEXHIBIT_043*LIZ,
February t7,2A2O
To Whom lt May Concern:
I built my building in L997 /1998 and have operated it for the past 22 plus years.
At the time I built my building, the property al7! Eisenbeis Avenue was owner
occupied and the location of Northwest Electric Apparatus. The owner of that
business and the propefi, retired, closed the business and set about to find a
long term tenant for the property. There were several that looked at the property
but it soon became apparent that the most serious might be considering the use
for the grow operation.
I had concerns about the possibility of the grow operation because there had
already been burglaries in the neighborhood and I had the feeling that such an
operation might attract more of that kind of activity. Of course, the security of my
building was of primary concern. The property was leased, the Williamsons began
to prepare for their grow activities and, during those first few weeks, I was able to
meet them. lt didn't take long to find them to be very reasonable people and also
very concerned, not only for the security of their operation but the security of
neighboring properties and the opinion of them and their business throughout
My name is Ralph Ericksen. I own the property at 182 Otto Street, Port Townsend
Wa, it is immediately south of a property listed asTL Eisenbeis Avenue, an
unimproved street, but also fronts on Otto Street. Both properties are within the
Light lndustrial Zone, commonly referred to as the Glen Cove Light lndustrialArea.
They are off Highway 20 and near midway between Seton Road and Frederick
Street. My property contains a 14,000 square foot shop/storage building, most of
which is rented. The property at 71 Eisenbeis Avenue is leased to the Williamsons
of the Outback Bud Company and has been used as a famity operated legal
marijuana grow operation for about the past 4 years.
the neighborhood. I have been dealing cancer and chemo treatments on and off
for fourteen years. When the Williamsons became aware of my situation' they
have made a point of checking on me and offering help if I needed anything' That
might not reflect on the business or land use issues but it does reflect the type of
neighbors theY are.
part of the set up for the business also included a sophisticated security system
with the capability of connecting to Emergency services for automatic connection
to Police, Fire, etc. My fears of this type of business attracting a crime element to
the neighborhood have proved to be unfounded. lt should also be pointed out
that there is another grow operation farther south on otto street' one or two
farther north and a larger operation west of Hwy 20 on Frederick street'
It should probably be pointed out that the Glen cove Light lndustrial area is not
very large and it is surrounded by residential properties' lt should also be
mentioned that there are residences within the Light rndustriar Zone. There are
three or four houses and a fourplex within 500 feet of the property currently
reased and operated by the wiiliamsons and there are !2 singre famiry residences
within 300 feet of what might be the largest grow operation in the neighborhood,
located on Frederick Street
As I have had the time to observe the use of the property at 71 Eisenbeis Avenue'
lhavecometotheconclusionthatthecurrentuseofthesubjectmightbebetter
classified as an Agricultural Use. lt actually has less impact on the neighborhood
than would a dairy, chicken farm, egg production and sale or even a vegetable
and farm stand type use. The total operation occurs within the building, generates
no noise or obtrusive light, the harvesting and packaging does not require
machinery, the traffic is limited to the hand few employees during the day and
maybe one freight delivery about every three months or so'
t
I woutd be happy to keep the williamsons as my neighbors but understand their
intent to move to another location'
Sincerely
Ralph Ericksen