More than a dozen pot entrepreneurs in Snohomish County have decided against setting up shop until local governments enact permanent regulations for the emerging industry. Lawmakers in Everett, Monroe and Snohomish County government are scheduled this week to discuss rules for local businesses seeking to operate under the Initiative 502, which regulates Washington’s recreational marijuana system.
Jamie Curtismith is an advocate with a group of existing and would-be marijuana businesses in some of the county’s rural areas. The operators banded together last year after pot opponents convinced local governments to add more regulations to the state rules.
Now, Curtismith said, about half of group’s 36 business owners are at a standstill.
They fear investing more time and money into businesses that could be banned, she said. Many are having trouble finding an approved location because changes to zoning rules limit their options, she said.
The city of Monroe is considering altering its zoning requirements to keep recreational marijuana retailers and growers out of town. If approved, there would be only one place a state-licensed pot processor could locate in the city.
The Monroe Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on the zoning rules for these businesses at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
The City Council wants to mandate a 1,000-foot buffer between marijuana businesses and churches, private parks and the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. That’s in addition to the state’s rule, which prohibits the businesses from locating within 1,000 feet of schools, daycares, playgrounds, recreation centers, public parks, transit stops, libraries and arcades that allow children.
Monroe currently allows recreational marijuana production and processing in some industrial areas. Pot retailers are permitted in some commercial areas. Medical marijuana gardens and dispensaries are banned.
After hearing public comments Monday, the Planning Commission will make recommendations to the City Council, which is expected to take action on the matter in March.
The marijuana issue has also become controversial outside the city limits. An anti-pot group known as the Concerned Citizens of Wagner Lake has voiced opposition at city and county public hearings.
Another hotspot is the unincorporated Clearview area, where residents have mounted strong resistance to the increasing number of pot businesses.
Their concerns prompted the Snohomish County Council to pass an emergency ordinance in October banning growers, processors and retailers in so-called R-5 zones — rural areas where the county typically permits one house per five acres, with some exceptions. The council enacted another measure that prohibits medical marijuana businesses along a one-mile stretch of Highway 9 in Clearview.
County council members have to enact permanent rules for pot operators by April 1, when the temporary ban expires. In the meantime, the council has asked the planning commission and county staff to come up with recommendations. The commission is suggesting that the county regulate marijuana growers and processors based on the state’s three-tiered system for different sizes of operations. The recommendation also addresses nuisances, such as noise and lighting. For medical marijuana, the commission suggests the council wait for the Legislature to enact regulations this session.
The county planning department staff recommendations conflict with the commission’s suggestions.
The staff wants the council, for now, to ban medical marijuana dispensaries and collective gardens in the Clearview area as well as recreational marijuana shops in the five-acre rural zones.
“We’re not saying it won’t be appropriate at some point in the future,” Planning Director Clay White said.
The council has scheduled a meeting in its chambers at 3 p.m. on Monday to discuss the recommendations. It will not take action until after a public hearing this spring.
Everett’s planning commission is also wrestling with the marijuana issue. A public workshop is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall. Potential changes to the city’s interim regulations, which are expire July 12, will be discussed.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports
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