A cannabis cultivation business has been denied approval to operate in a former retail building on South Market Street. The now-vacant previous home of Northern Rehab Equipment and Respiratory Supply at 3048 South Market Street is surrounded on three sides by the Good News Rescue Mission. Proximity to the mission and it’s clients over the years have prompted many complaints by customers and employees of the retail tenants of the building, but Jeremy Aleck assured the city that once his cannabis operation was fully fenced and secured, there would be no issue with the neighbors, and city staff agreed with that assessment in their report. No public access is allowed for a cannabis cultivation permitted facility. Even employees of the business must be vetted by the city. The ventilation systems would have to be modified to eliminate most of the cannabis odor, and other controls would be required to minimize impact on the surrounding neighborhood and make the facility virtually indistinguishable. No public opposition had been filed against the permit request prior to Tuesday’s Redding Planning Commission meeting, but mission representatives made impassioned pleas to the panel about their clients, many of whom are recovering from substance abuse, and the psychological impact of knowing that cannabis was being grown just a hundred feet away. The commission agreed, and the permit recommendation was denied. It’s unclear what avenues may be available for appeal.