PRESS RELEASE CHTC Settlement

The City of Molalla and Columbia Hemp Trading Company (CHTC) have been involved in a protracted legal dispute regarding land use issues and the pungent odor emanating from CHTC’s Molalla Hemp Processing operations. In February of 2020 a Molalla Municipal Court hearing was scheduled on the issue and garnered close to 100 Molalla residents ready to testify about the alleged odor but was ultimately set-over due to a technical issue. The rescheduled hearing date could not be facilitated by the court due to COVID-19 restrictions and concerns.

With the Municipal Court closed indefinitely during 2020, the issues persisted and the chasm between the two sides grew seemingly wider while citizen complaints continued to flow into City Hall. Then recently, after a series of discussions and a Clackamas County Circuit Court preliminary hearing, the cards were effectively on the table. This led to renewed efforts by all parties to negotiate a reasonable settlement agreement and mitigate the costs related to continued litigation.

With both sides of the dispute negotiating in seemingly good faith, a settlement agreement was reached, executed, and has signaled the end of the current litigation. CHTC’s Molalla processing facility has not been operational since the Fall of 2020. While the settlement is encouraging, there are more steps that the City and CHTC need to take before operations can resume in a manner that is non-offensive to the Molalla Community. These include, but may not be limited to, undergoing the City’s land use approval process and other regulatory processes required by state agencies such as Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Any questions regarding the information in this press release can be directed to: Mac Corthell, Planning Director at (503) 829-5566 or code@cityofmolalla.com.