Thursday, December 7, 2023–7:00 p.m.
Adam Carey, Rome News-Tribune-
This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com.
The Rome Floyd Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval Thursday of a rezoning request for a proposed hemp growing facility on Center Street that would share a building with the Rome Athletic Club.
Rome City Commissioners will have the final say following a public hearing at their Dec. 18 meeting.
The front portion of the building is currently occupied by the Rome Athletic Club. The hemp growing operation would be in the rear. Owner Charles Craton is seeking to have the property rezoned from Community Commercial to Light Industrial use.
According to Craton, the two businesses are completely separate.
“My daughter Calley, who has a degree in agriculture from Auburn, will be running the hemp business,” Craton said.
The Center Street property would be used for hemp growing and drying only. The hemp would be processed at another location into products like gummies, tinctures and creams containing cannabidiol, or CBD oil.
“We will be growing our first crop of hemp in purpose-built tents inside the space,” Calley Craton said earlier this week. “We’ve also looked at larger spaces, but this will do for our first crop.”
She said she believes this would be the first hemp growing operation in Floyd County; others are already established in neighboring counties like Bartow. Retail CBD sales are projected to bring in $4.5 billion in 2024, according to Chicago-based analytics firm Brightfield Group.
The planning commission also backed a request from the owner of a property at 200 Tom Bing Road to rezone from Suburban Residential to Agricultural Residential. Plans are to build a single-family home on the property with the ability to have a few horses and cows as well.
The commission also approved a request from the owner of a property at 115 Lombardy Way to rezone from Community Commercial to Neighborhood Office Commercial in order to sell the existing house.
