(Photo by Matthew Casey - KJZZ)

A sign welcome people at the southern entrance of the Town of Chino Valley on Arizona Highway 89.

(Photo by Matthew Casey - KJZZ)

Realtor Chad Nanke escaped substance abuse problems about 20 years ago.

(Photo by Matthew Casey - KJZZ)

A medical marijuana farm is under construction near the southern entrance to Chino Valley.

(Photo by Matthew Casey - KJZZ)

Chino Valley Mayor Chris Marley plans to seek office again in November.

(Photo by Matthew Casey - KJZZ)

A Chino Valley seal sits near the entrance to the Town Hall.

(Photo by Matthew Casey - KJZZ)

Mike O'Connor-Masse changed his opinion on medical and recreational marijuana after doing research.

(Photo courtesy of J.P Holyoak)

J.P Holyoak is the chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.

A sign with silver letters welcomes drivers to the Town of Chino Valley on Arizona Highway 89 about a half-hour north of Prescott.

“When you first come into town, you can see that they’re grading,” said realtor Chad Nanke “There is some dirt work going on. What’s going on here?”

It didn’t take Nanke long to figure out it was the early stages of marijuana farm. Medical cannabis has been grown in Chino Valley for a couple of years, but the idea of it happening just off main street shook Nanke, who said that he escaped a life of substance abuse about 20 years ago.

“I don’t care how much money is made,” Nanke said. “I want to stand for what I think is right.”

Chino Valley is known as a prime spot for agriculture, and officials recently took steps to limit medical marijuana farms. But with the increasing likelihood that recreational marijuana will make it onto the November ballot, could the town be hurting its economy in the long run?

Many other residents agreed with Nanke's desire that Chino Valley not be known for growing cannabis, and the Town Council voted last month to only allow future marijuana farms on a few slices of land set back from the main drag. Existing facilities will continue as normal, and the one under construction near the town’s southern entrance will still go forward.

The council’s vote was an example of government responding to the expressed will of most of the Chino Valley’s roughly 11,000 residents, said Mayor Chris Marley. Although, they waited until a few years after Arizona legalized medical marijuana to speak up.

“What struck me as funny is there is such a large number of folks that didn’t even vote yes or no on the marijuana issue,” Nanke said.

Chino Valley’s seal has the words, “Looking to the Future.” And Marley thinks that’s more important than ever, given questions about the long-term health of town’s aquifer and economy. Recent U.S. Census data show the town’s per capita income is about $22,000.

“And since the amount of water we can use for row crops is controlled by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, really, if you are going to do any kind of agriculture, greenhouses are going to be the wave of the future,” Marley said.

Growing tomatoes in greenhouses was what first brought Mike O’Connor-Masse to Chino Valley. After the state legalized medical marijuana, people started approaching him about leasing his greenhouse to grow cannabis.

At first he resisted because of an aversion to the plant. But the 56-year-old said he changed his mind after doing research and thinking about retirement.

“I’m a poor vegetable farmer, so anytime I see an opportunity to improve cash flow, I’m going to look at it,” O’Connor-Masse said. 

O’Connor-Masse now supports medical and recreational marijuana. He thinks restricting cannabis farming in Chino Valley was a mistake.

“The jewel of Chino Valley is its climate, its water, its geography,” O’Connor-Masse said. “And if we capitalize on that with a new type of horticulture industry that uses far less water, little to no chemicals because this is a product that has to be consumed, and hires people at really good wages. Where is the problem for that?”

J.P. Holyoak is chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, the organization working to get recreational marijuana on the ballot. Also a dispensary owner, Holyoak said he considered all options for growing medical cannabis in Arizona, including Chino Valley. He chose not to pursue a facility in the Town because of local politics.

Instead, Holyoak started an indoor growing operation in Phoenix.

“They’re killing jobs,” Holyoak said. “It’s really that simple. They are killing jobs in Chino Valley by zoning this out.”

But Marley is also a pastor with a background in electrical and mechanical trades. He has a different vision for bringing jobs to the town he described as a bedroom community: manufacturing.

“I’d like to be able to pick something up and turn it over and on the bottom have made in Chino instead of made in China,” Marley said. "I know that sounds sort of pathetic. But it’s important to me.”

Marley plans to seek the mayor’s office again in November. This means that if Holyoak’s group is successful, Marley’s name will appear on the same ballot as the choice of whether to legalize recreational marijuana.