Audio By Carbonatix
A dispensary owner and grower leasing a warehouse in a neighborhood at the heart of the current Denver City Council zoning discussions plans to file a lawsuit alleging that developer Mickey Zeppelin, Councilwoman Judy Montero and former Councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt not only interfered with his ability to conduct business, but purposefully made public the location of the grow site.
Colorado law says that a sitting public official must be given 90 days’ notice before a lawsuit can be filed against that official, so the suit has not yet been filed. But Dan Emmans, owner of Grass Roots Health and Wellness and manager of the grow warehouse on Brighton Boulevard that sublets space to nearly a dozen other growers, says that his ability to conduct business has been nearly stymied by Zeppelin.
He charges that Zeppelin and Barnes-Gelt have repeatedly disclosed the location of that warehouse in public, despite laws that keep grows secret.
Sean McAllister, Emmans’s attorney, says Montero is included in the suit because she leases office space from Zeppelin’s nearby TAXI project, which he argues is a conflict of interest. Montero has been at the forefront of Denver City Council’s push for new medical marijuana growing regulations.
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The notice states that Emmans is asking for $1.5 million in damages because many of his subletters say they won’t be won’t be renewing their leases. Emmans has a five-year, $48,000-per-month lease on the space.
You can read the notice below:
More from our Marijuana archive: “Medical marijuana: More than 52 grows could still be at risk from city council, attorney says.”
