SKOWHEGAN — Town officials on Tuesday rejected plans for a medical cannabis grow house, as the applicant’s advisor pointed to what he called “onerous” requirements imposed on him and his client.
The grow house at 667 Waterville Road, meanwhile, has been in operation since the spring of 2025, said adviser Albert Kang, who consults marijuana growers on how to comply with regulations. That was when the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy issued licenses for that facility, and at the time, Kang said he did not think he needed any town approval based on discussions with officials.
The town’s Staff Review Committee, made up of several department heads, reached its decision after considering the minor site plan review application from Winter Sweet LLC during an approximately 20 minute meeting.
Why exactly the committee rejected the application was unclear, although the town’s contracted planner from the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments will issue findings of fact and conclusions of law in the coming days. Once that written decision is issued, Winter Sweet can appeal the decision to the Planning Board, per the town’s Site Plan Review Ordinance.
The board was considering Winter Sweet’s application, filed in late October, to use two existing buildings for medical cannabis cultivation, as well as to build a new pad for a mobile home and install a new septic system.
The project on Waterville Road, also known as U.S. Route 201, constituted a change of use that needed a site plan review because the buildings were previously operated as kennels, according to Bryan Belliveau, the town’s director of economic and community development.
The size of the project put it in the “minor” category, meaning the Staff Review Committee had authority to review it instead of the Planning Board.
The owner of the property listed on the application is Yan Qiang Mei of Missouri City, Texas, who real estate records show purchased it in 2022. Kang, who has also gone by the name Cheehaut Kang, said the property owner is his brother-in-law, who in turn has tenants running the marijuana grow.
Kang and his wife run a business advising clients on how to comply with state and local marijuana growing regulations, he explained in a lengthy interview with the Morning Sentinel in 2025.
Their business, he said then, was sparked as “mom and pop” marijuana growers of Chinese descent in Maine grew fearful amid a law enforcement crackdown on illegal grow houses that began in early 2024.
Authorities have said they believe the growing operations in Maine being investigated, which at one point federal prosecutors estimated numbered more than 200, may be tied to Chinese organized crime. Meanwhile, the Office of Cannabis Policy confirmed in late 2024 that more than 120 previously illicit grows in Maine had entered the state’s licensed medical caregiver program.
The investigations across Maine put officials at odds over whether human trafficking is involved, and also have raised issues about public health due to the presence of black mold found at some residences and chemicals found at others. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, said investigating the illegal grows would be a priority for U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson, a former state District Court judge and homicide prosecutor she recommended for the job.
“Our endeavor is always to get people to follow the rules and regulations and be law-abiding citizens,” Kang said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Several neighbors and his contractor, electrician and gas supplier attended to support the Winter Sweet application.
The vote was 3-1. Belliveau, who was the town’s code enforcement officer until recently and continues to oversee the planning and code enforcement office in his new position, voted in favor. Police Chief David Bucknam, Fire Chief Ryan Johnston and Road Commissioner Jason Finley voted against the project.
“At every step of the way, every time we’ve communicated with this entity, they’ve gone above and beyond,” Belliveau said before the vote. “They try to make sure that they come here and do the right thing.”
Of the three against, only Johnston spoke during the meeting, asking Kang several questions about fire protection measures.
Johnston said national fire safety standards are likely to be updated this year with new requirements for cannabis cultivation facilities, such as the need for sprinklers and fire alarms. He cautioned Kang to plan ahead for those changes, as previously compliant facilities would not be grandfathered.
“I will gladly go through it with you and show you the things that eventually you’re going to be required to do,” Johnston told Kang.
In an interview last week and during the meeting, Kang said he wants to follow all rules and regulations, but he has found the approval process in Skowhegan frustrating.
Kang said he first approached the select board in 2024, which told him medical cannabis growing facilities were prohibited in Skowhegan.
But his wife eventually met with Belliveau, who told her such facilities are permissible in certain locations. An ordinance adopted in 2016 allows facilities producing or disturbing controlled substances — such as medical marijuana businesses and methadone clinics — only on U.S. routes 2 or 201 east of Route 150 and in the Northgate or Southgate industrial parks.
With Belliveau’s guidance, Kang believed he did not need anything further from the town.
The tenant at 667 Waterville Road then obtained state medical cannabis licenses to operate the grow in March or April 2025. The state has authorized two registered caregivers to cultivate at the address, OCP spokesperson Alexis Soucy said via email Tuesday.
Skowhegan Code Enforcement Officer Aaron Crocker became involved when Kang sought to install a trailer on the property in which the tenants could live. He said four people work on site.
“That is where the proverbial can of worms opened up,” Kang told the committee.
He said he followed the necessary steps with the town to get the mobile home installed, which ultimately required a new septic system due to issues with the old one.
But during that process, Crocker informed Kang he would need to submit a site plan review application because part of the property was being used to grow cannabis. Kang said he agreed to several requirements Crocker mentioned, such as putting in fire exits, extinguishers and signage as well as working to rewire the electrical systems.
“We are trying to be compliant and even spending a lot of money trying to be compliant,” Kang said.
Crocker, who was not at Tuesday’s meeting, also said the buildings would need a mechanical ventilation system, according to Kang.
That is what made Kang frustrated, as he said the grow uses carbon dioxide gas and such a system would not be possible. He said no other town where he has advised clients has required such a system. And, he said his carbon dioxide supplier and contractor agreed it was an unusual requirement.
The topic was only briefly discussed Tuesday, with Belliveau saying that it is a code requirement.
Kang has said he already made changes to the property to accommodate industrial uses, although that use was not discussed at the meeting.
Among those, Mei, the owner, was granted an easement in 2022 by Central Maine Power Co., to modify and upgrade the power equipment at the home, property records show.
In late 2024, Kang said the property was modified to accommodate a “multimillion-dollar manufacturing business” he ran with his brother-in-law, although he declined to specify what was being manufactured, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
Kang insisted it was not being used to grow marijuana or for any other illicit purpose.
At the time, the property was listed for sale. Kang said then the original business plan fell through, but a client was interested in growing marijuana there instead.
“The reason why we came up to Maine was because property was cheap,” Kang said in a recent interview. “(My brother-in-law) wanted to invest in properties so he could rent it out and he could make some money on the investment.”
Staff Writer Dylan Tusinski contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
