The Wright City Board of Aldermen gave unanimous approval to a medical marijuana dispensary near the corner of Highway H and Veterans Memorial Parkway, after a lengthy debate about managing traffic in the area.

Dispensary representative Zelletta Wyatt said that during the provider’s first three years in business, the company anticipates generating over $500,000 in city sales tax revenue and $750,000 in county sales tax revenue. The dispensary will have 19 full-time and part-time employees, she said.

Wyatt also reiterated that the dispensary will comply with all operational and security procedures mandated by the state after voters approved a medical marijuana amendment in 2018.

The dispensary would be located in the commercial block at the corner of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Highway H. Two buildings there will be demolished to make room for a custom-built facility.

Wright City code requires marijuana dispensaries to receive a conditional use permit (CUP) from the city before beginning operations. The CUP process allows the city to add specific requirements to prevent nuisances such as odor or traffic congestion.

Traffic near the facility was the biggest holdup for the dispensary’s approval, despite planners complying with a previous directive from City Administrator Jim Schuchmann to adjust the building’s footprint for better traffic flow.

Alderman Ramiz Hakim said traffic was the primary concern brought to him by constituents, especially because an adjacent auto garage at the corner of Highway H will remain in operation.

“There’s already existing traffic there, and now you’re wanting additional traffic to come in with additional parking,” Hakim commented. He noted that this section of Veterans Memorial Parkway is right where the speed limit drops from 55 mph to 35 mph, and that several residents had expressed concerns about whether the dispensary would have so much traffic coming in that it could get backed up onto Veterans Memorial.

Wyatt responded that the dispensary believes the current parking in its plans is adequate, that most returning customers would be in and out quickly or would be quickly through the dispensary’s drive-thru, and that the company has an option to purchase more land for additional parking if necessary.

Schuchmann confirmed that the building’s site plan has more parking than is required by city code.

Hakim then added to  his comments that the building’s proposed signage does not comply with city code. He asked if approval of the dispensary could be pushed back by two weeks for further examination.

That elicited an objection from Wyatt, who said a delay could jeopardize the dispensary’s state government approval, and also from Alderman Nathan Rohr, who said he didn’t believe traffic would be a concern.

“I’ve lived off of Highway H for 12 years, and I know the traffic’s not that bad,” Rohr said.

After some heated debate over the issue, Schuchmann again intervened to observe that multiple previous businesses operating from that location have not caused traffic concerns. The aldermen then agreed to vote in favor of a CUP for the dispensary as long as building and signage plans were adjusted to meet city code.

Aldermen also added a restriction that the dispensary is only approved for medical marijuana, preventing the store from selling for other purposes even if recreational marijuana is eventually legalized.