ASPEN — Four Pitkin County commissioners took a long look and a big whiff Wednesday to see if the owners of the marijuana greenhouses outside of Basalt have eliminated what critics call a skunky smell.
High Valley Farms co-owner Jordan Lewis led the commissioners on their first tour of the 20,000-square-foot complex across Highway 82 from the Holland Hills subdivision. Lewis said “we did a lot of things right” with the facility when it was constructed in 2014-15, but the ventilation system needed work. He believes they have found the solution in a new system that forces air through massive charcoal filters before emitting it on the south side of the property, closest to the Roaring Fork River.
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The prior system emitted the air that was circulated through the pot-growing operation toward Highway 82 after diluting the odor with a neutralizing agent.
Some Holland Hills residents complained that a skunk-like odor was too overwhelming at times after the facility opened in March, and the facility operators in August were told their cultivator’s license was in jeopardy of not being renewed because of the odor issues.
