DES PERES, Mo. — A medical marijuana dispensary's bid to open a facility in Des Peres has prompted opposition from the owner of an adjacent property, which claims its tenants have concerns about safety.
But a city official, while cautioning that the business, called Root 66, still does not have the needed permissions to open at 12095 Manchester Road, said the government has limited options to stop such a business from opening. The official also asserted that Root 66 has not proven to be a nuisance in other parts of the region since the state's medical-marijuana program began operating, after the first licenses were awarded in 2019.
Kristine Finlay's Briann Realty LP owns a 37,000-square-foot shopping center she says shares a wall with the property targeted by the dispensary, between Lindemann and Ballas roads. Briann's tenants include Reineke Decorating Center, Edward Jones and Kirkwood Kitchen and Bath.
While nearly all Briann's 40 tenants oppose Root 66 opening next door, Finlay said there's particular concern at one: Mathnasium, which offers math tutoring for children from grades one through 12. Los Angeles-based Mathnasium didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Root 66, which is represented by Daniel Welsh of Hein Schneider & Bond, and has two locations in the city of St. Louis and another in St. Peters, also did not respond to requests for comment, nor did its planned Des Peres landlord, West Brothers Properties, registered to Kyle West.
Mathnasium "was very concerned about this because obviously they're trying to offer safety," Finlay said. "The parents are dropping their kids off, and they were concerned about, are parents going to be comfortable dropping their kids off 45 feet away from this new business?"
Clients of another tenant, Frontenac Salon, "have already expressed concern about safety and have indicated that they would be fearful and uncomfortable to patronize Frontenac Salon in the event that Root 66 opens just feet away," Briann's attorney, Meghan Lamping of Carmody MacDonald, wrote in a Feb. 9 letter to the city and Des Peres Mayor Mark Becker.
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