SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico (KTSM) — In two narrow votes, a pair of dispensaries backed by one of the state of New Mexico’s leading cannabis businesses suffered setbacks Monday night, May 11 in Sunland Park.

The Sunland Park City Council rejected special use permits for cannabis licenses at Station X and Cronica Cannabis. The meeting was held after a New Mexico District judge found a previous determination from the City Council failed to satisfy due process.

A Sunland Park City Council meeting where they discussed permits for two cannabis dispensaries drew a large crowd. Photo by Aaron Montes/KTSM

Station X and Cronica Cannabis did not receive the four votes needed from the council for approval. Both have 30 days to appeal the City Council’s decision to a district court.

“There’s these appeals in process that are established for issues like this so that everything can be reviewed and there’s a due process,” Mayor Javier Perea said. “Because we’re dealing with property rights, that does require a due process to be set in place.”

Monday’s hearing followed a March ruling by District Court Judge Casey Fitch who found that the council’s prior denial of both applications violated due process and was legally unsupported.

The court ordered a new proceeding.

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Both applications received City staff recommendations for approval and meet every legal requirement for licensure under New Mexico state law, according to a news release from Chadcor Holdings, which is the entity that will operate both dispensaries. According to the news release, Chadcor is an independent cannabis operator and is not affiliated with any other venue or development project at the site.

Monday’s hearing only deals with cannabis licensing, Chadcor said.

In nearby El Paso, city Rep. Alejandra Chavez said in a social media post that she remains concerned about the special use permit for the Station X dispensary that would be located at 420 Sunland Park Drive.

She said that the dispensary’s parking lot would be located in El Paso.

“Because of the potential impact on nearby District 1 neighborhoods (in El Paso), I have again sent a letter to their Mayor and Council raising concerns related to traffic, public safety, and quality of life, while urging consideration of requiring primary access to the site to remain in New Mexico, along with infrastructure improvements to support that access,” she wrote on social media.

In her letter to Sunland Park, she said that her main concern is the “safety and quality of life of the families I represent” in El Paso’s District. 1.

“As you consider this SUP (special use permit), I respectfully urge you to include a condition requiring the developer, Chadcor Holdings NM, to provide a dedicated access route to and from the site that is designed to accommodate project-related traffic within New Mexico’s roadway network,” Chavez wrote in her letter to Sunland Park officials “This type of condition falls squarely within the Council’s authority to apply reasonable site-specific and operational standards to ensure that development is compatible with the surrounding areas.”

“Without this type of infrastructure in place, it is reasonably anticipated that traffic associated with this business will divert through El Paso streets and residential areas, creating avoidable impacts to roadway safety, congestion and neighborhood concerns,” she also wrote.

“Importantly this condition ensures that the cost of necessary infrastructure is borne by the developer, not by the City of Sunland Park or surrounding communities,” Chavez continued.

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