By Julianna LaFollette
Two separate proposals, each looking to establish a new psilocybin service center in the County, were seeking approval from a Deschutes County hearings officer.
On April 9, Deschutes County held a public hearing regarding a land use decision that would allow a psilocybin manufacturing and service center to be permitted on a property across the street from Pine Nursery Park in northeast Bend.
According to Jacob Ripper, a Deschutes County planner, the process is unique in the fact that there is no development proposed at the moment. Instead, the applicant is only seeking County approval to allow psilocybin manufacturing as an agricultural use on the property and a psilocybin service center as an accessory use.
The main reason for the hearing, according to the staff report, is that the application was submitted on April 3, 2022, which was the day before two ordinances, 2022-014 and 2022-015, regulating the time, place and manner for psilocybin manufacturing, service centers and test laboratories, went into effect.
Neither ordinance currently allows these uses within the zone of the subject property, said Ripper. The applicant, however, argues that the regulations don’t apply to the proposal and that the only standards and criteria that apply are those that were applicable on the date of submittal, said Ripper.
If this is approved, the applicant would have to submit another application for actual development. If that moves forward, this would become the first manufacturing center in Deschutes County.
On March 12, Deschutes County held another public hearing on a proposed psilocybin service center at the Juniper Preserve Destination Resort. The applicant, Juniper Institute, attempted to open a psilocybin service center in an existing commercial lot within the Juniper Preserve resort community.
The proposal for the service center received over 150 public comments from neighbors and residents. Many individuals supported the proposed center, citing the potential benefit to the community.
Others opposed it, with complaints questioning the location and whether the center would “fit in.” The hearing officer took concerns about issues like location into consideration and issued a decision on April 29, denying the proposed service center and finding that the application did not meet applicable criteria. The applicant has 12 days to appeal the decision.
As of April 29, the state of Oregon had issued 26 service center licenses, three of which are currently operating in Deschutes County and listed in the Oregon Psilocybin Services directory.
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