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VIDEO. Ed Wilkinson and Aneese Bishara bought the old greenhouses at the end of Frenchman’s Creek Road 2 years ago and shortly after permitted them for cannabis – although they had been working on permitting it for cannabis during their escrow period, for over a year. The parcel covers 164 acres with four greenhouses, one of which will be used for a nursery and the other three for the cultivation of flower. They are called Half Moon Grow (HMG).

 

The county sets extensive requirements for those hoping to acquire a license, including requirements for video surveillance systems, a local hiring plan, waste management protocol, and odor control, among other stipulations. Additionally, HMG has to follow all the state agency regulations, which are far stricter than regular Agriculture – including tracking each plan from its infant stage to sale.

HMG followed all permitting requirements over the last two years since the purchase, in 2018, of their Frenchman’s Creek greenhouse property.

When HMG first approached the neighbors they proposed repaving the road as it was in a medieval state, with potholes on every inch. Before it was eventually repaved, the horse ranch was barely able to get horses in and out. HMG was going to take on all permitting responsibilities, as well as cover 90%+ of the cost of the repaving.

The neighbors went through multiple rounds of comments to ensure all parties got exactly what they wanted. HMG also met the requirements of the City of Half Moon Bay, HMB Coastside Fire District and CalFire. Since the first meeting with the City, the process took over 2 years to get permitted. Ed, Aneese and all parties worked tirelessly together, as a community, in order to ensure all aspects, of every party’s concerns, were met.

In the end, HMG spent substantial capital on legal, surveyors, consultants, environmentalists, and fees associated with the project in addition to countless hours of emails and meetings in order to get the projected permitted with all the requirements from the neighbors, city, and the fire department.

In February 2021 the repaving project was permitted and construction completed. The total project cost was over a half a million dollars to complete, from permitting to final construction inspection. HMG bore over 90% of those costs.

 

Now, HMG and its neighbors have a brand new road that satisfies the fire department, the city, and all neighbors on the road, as well as their customers – seriously increasing the quality of life living and commuting on Frenchman’s Creek Road.

Without HMG to middleman and facilitate negotiations between the neighbors, city, and county the road may not have ever been done, as it’s a private road that the city is not responsible for repaving.

Some will say that the road was a requirement for HMG operation, but it was not a requirement at the time, when Ed and Aneese made the gesture at the inception of their endeavors. The road would have never been fixed without HMG involvement. Furthermore, HMG was not required by any agencies to make it a 20-year road. HMG forked out the extra capital for the community to install a double layer asphalt road, which will last a lifetime, instead of just putting a single layer, which might have lasted 5 years.

The video speaks to how bad the road was and to the scope of the project.

~ Approved by Ed Wilkinson and Aneese Bishara

 

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