KC-area Weed District developer withdraws plans, zoning head resigns after Star report
Developer Withdraws Plans for Marijuana-Friendly Village in Kansas After Controversy.
The developer of a marijuana-friendly entertainment district has withdrawn his redevelopment plans for a tiny Kansas City-area village after The Star inquired about a series of connections between the project and the town’s government. And the village’s head of zoning resigned a day after the newspaper published a story about those connections.
Area business and property owners who spoke with The Star alleged that Jack Mitchell, the developer of the project called the Smokey River Entertainment District, had effectively taken over the small municipality where only 11 people were registered to vote in the village’s most recent election. The village east of Kansas City is largely unknown by many in the metro. Its loose, business-friendly culture has made it a hotspot for industrial businesses and warehouses.
The Star earlier this month detailed how every member of the village board, which operates similar to a city council, was connected to Mitchell in some way — either as a member of his family, an employee of his or is married to someone who works for or is related to him. The village clerk, Amy Howse, is also Mitchell’s daughter. In late September, just two days after The Star interviewed Mitchell about his connections to the board, he formally withdrew his plans to redevelop the village and build a massive $189.5 million project that included an entertainment district. The project, proposed by Mitchell’s SRED Investors, LLC, would have been partially funded by tax increment financing or TIF money. Mitchell plans to submit a new development proposal in the future, Howse said during a village board meeting on Tuesday.
Mitchell did not return multiple calls for comment from The Star. A spokesperson for SRED Investors, LLC, said in a statement to The Star that the company’s plans for River Bend were still pending. “They are still working on some negotiations, and that’s why it’s been withdrawn for now, but it will be resubmitted as soon as they make a couple final decisions,” the statement said. Benjamin Hoffer, the chair of the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission who has ties to Mitchell’s entertainment district, submitted his letter of resignation in early October, a day after The Star’s story was published.
The story described how a village stakeholder had filed a complaint against Hoffer with the Missouri Ethics Commission that questioned whether he legitimately holds his position with the village government and potential conflicts of interest between the development and the village government. Liz Ziegler, the ethics commission’s executive director, said Missouri law prevented the commission from commenting on complaints.
Hoffer did not give a reason for his resignation in the letter. He did not return a call for comment for this story. Hoffer is the manager of capital projects for Besa Hospitality Group, according to his Linkedin profile. His business card includes references to the Smokey River Entertainment District. “I’d imagine the pressure from all the scrutiny he’s been receiving became too much for him so I’m not surprised he resigned from his position as Chairman,” Dan Zima, who filed the complaint against Hoffer, said in a statement to The Star. Zima is the director of staff for Illicit Gardens, a large cultivator of marijuana in the Kansas City area that is trying to get a building permit to expand in River Bend.
Mitchell, connected and influential within the state’s lucrative marijuana industry, is the founder of Besa Group of Companies, which includes dispensary, cultivation and manufacturing companies, according to his Linkedin profile. He’s also the president of Mitchell Hospitality Ltd., which his profile describes as cannabis cultivation, processing and dispensaries. In the wake of Mitchell withdrawing his development plans in Missouri and Hoffer’s resignation, questions have swirled within the River Bend community. Many have gone unanswered.
The village, in a statement posted on its website last week, said that it was unable to conduct any planning and zoning business because of Hoffer’s resignation. The village statement also called on “anyone” who was aware of “lawful residents” of the village to submit that information to Howse. The statement came after village stakeholders raised concerns about who actually lives in the village and whether the current board members have lived there long enough to be on the board. Howse appeared Tuesday along with board members Alex Hill, who is Mitchell’s niece, James Hoppe and his wife Jessica Caswell, who works for Mitchell, at a village meeting. Howse reiterated that anyone who was a resident should let her know since they had not conducted “any thorough vetting.”
The board had few answers for the 20 or so attendees who voiced concerns ranging from where city records are stored (on private property) to safety measures at an upcoming festival (a man overdosed on the festival grounds earlier this year and later died). In answering a question about what happens if festivals continue to be disruptive, Hill said they would need to talk to their “lawyers and stuff.” Howse later told the crowd, “This is not a Q&A.”
Board members said they would have to get back to constituents on qualifications for the next planning and zoning commissioner, when speed limit signs would be posted on one of the village’s main roads and the new development plan, among several other issues that were raised. Howse said their attorney had “personal issues” that had prevented them from getting responses to questions.
The board appeared eager to end the meeting, at one point attempting to adjourn before all of the public comments had been given. Board members during the meeting often referred to Mitchell as “the developer.” Adam Diltz, co-owner and COO of Illicit Gardens, said they should stop the “play on words” because everyone knows the board is in some way connected to Mitchell. Nate Ruby, president of Illicit Gardens, said after the meeting that there is a “complete lack of transparency.” “They can never answer questions,” he said. Rich Hawkins, a property owner in River Bend, said many felt like Mitchell had come in and overtaken the area, even though many prefer it to stay a sleepy town.
The whole situation was “just politics,” he said. Mitchell is also a former member of the board of directors for MoCannTrade, the state’s primary marijuana industry organization. Two companies connected to Mitchell — BesaMe Wellness and Besa Hospitality Group (both of which are referenced on the Smokey River Entertainment District website) — are represented at the Missouri Capitol by Steve Tilley, a powerful former Missouri House speaker turned lobbyist. A spokesperson for Tilley’s lobbying firm Strategic Capitol Consulting said it provides the two companies “general government affairs services as needed.”
Mitchell’s reach in the marijuana industry also appears to be expanding to other states. The Star Tribune in Minnesota reported this week that a company led by Mitchell received $20 million in public loans to build a cannabis-growing operation in Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota.
