The Lyndon Development Review Board on Thursday heard plans

The Lyndon Development Review Board on Thursday heard plans for a marijuana grow operation. Lance Persson presented a permit application to cultivate approximately 100 plants indoors at 3092 South Wheelock Rd. He would convert an existing garage into a four room grow house with roughly 24 plants per room. The project requires conditional use and site plan approval. The DRB has 45 days to issue a decision. Persson and his partner, Nanette Bilodeau, have already obtained a Vermont “Tier 1” indoor small cultivator license under the business name Bog Brook Botanicals.  The Tier 1 license allows up to 1,000 square feet of plant canopy. The proposal would allow for expansion to Tier 2,  2,000 sq. ft. if Persson applies for a Tier 2 license. Persson and Bilodeau arrived from Oxford, Maine, where they operated a medical marijuana grow operation under the same name for several years. Persson has cultivated marijuana since 2015 and Bilodeau since 2011. He said they had wanted to relocate to Vermont and searched “for a while” before purchasing 3092 South Wheelock Rd. last year.

According to Persson, plans are to grow marijuana in the 6,240-square-foot garage and sell it wholesale. The rooms would be cultivated on a staggered schedule. The facility would have a security and video monitoring system, as required under state law. The converted garage will be equipped with two levels of air filtration, one for the rooms and the other for the building, to prevent odors from traveling onto neighboring properties, he said. There would be no retail sales or customer traffic on site. It is the second such proposal to come before the Development Review Board in less than a year. Last summer the Development Review Board approved permits for a similar marijuana grow facility at the former Rick’s Gun Shop.