Apr. 19—Local cannabis dispensary 14er Boulder has successfully completed renovations and obtained a license renewal that allows it to remain in business after it began demolition without the necessary permits.
The renovations at the Mapleton store — meant to increase capacity, enhance security and allow the dispensary to properly store its products — prompted about a year of legal and bureaucratic back and forth with Boulder's marijuana licensing department. City staff determined that 14er Boulder was in violation of its license, at least in part due to beginning a construction project without being properly permitted.
Considering 14er Boulder fought the city's decision in court and the project occurred in a period of pandemic-induced construction delays, the license renewal granted earlier this month was no guarantee.
For the license to be renewed, 14er Boulder had to complete construction work inside of its shop by April 8. The work concluded hours before the city came in for an inspection.
"Everything is good to go," owner and founder Nick Broderick said following the inspection. "It came down to the very last minute."
In addition to increasing the number of cameras in the store, the renovations improved the dispensary's ability to store more products in a legal and safe manner.
"Everything has to be in a safe and some of the products such as the concentrates and edibles have to be in a refrigerated safe," Senior Vice President of Marketing and Branding Joe Wright said.
Earlier this month, ahead of the decision, patrons and employees of 14er Boulder spoke in open comment at a Boulder City Council meeting, urging the city to grant the license renewal and save the dispensary, which has been in Boulder since 2009 and employs 65 people.
The saga has been ongoing since last spring when 14er Boulder first submitted a major modification application ahead of a planned construction project at its store.
"That is required to be submitted before they make any physical changes to anything that's on their floorplan or in their security diagram because the floorplan and the security diagram are all part of the marijuana license," Kathy Haddock, senior counsel with the Boulder City Attorney's Office, said.
Despite this, demolition work began before the store obtained the necessary permits, Haddock noted. This led to a stop work order from Boulder's building department and a summary suspension of its marijuana license, which lasted for four days before the city agreed to lift it.