EVERETT — Snohomish County Council members heard Wednesday from would-be marijuana sellers who said they’re stuck in limbo because of an ongoing moratorium on new pot shops.
The council set a Feb. 8 hearing date to consider imposing a buffer of up to 1 mile between future marijuana stores to prevent them from clustering in unincorporated areas, particularly stretches of Highway 99 and the Bothell-Everett Highway. They could lift the temporary ban at that time.
The moratorium is set to expire March 14. It’s been in place since June and was extended last month. It doesn’t affect businesses that were open as of June 22 and won’t break up any clusters that already exist.
“It seems like it’s just fear-based decision making that’s adversely affecting other businesses that could be generating taxes and jobs and taking away from the black market, which still is a very active thing in the state of Washington,” said Wesley Abney, of Kent, publisher of Northwest Leaf magazine.
Abney said marijuana businesses have been forced into certain areas by restrictions such as the state’s 1,000-foot setbacks from schools and parks. Some cities, including Mill Creek and Lynnwood, have banned pot retailers altogether. There’s no equivalent prohibition on liquor stores and most other types of businesses.
“The idea that clustering is bad … What is the research that’s showing that?” asked David Crowe, a Seattle attorney who represents marijuana shops throughout the state. “What are the real problems with that?”
Local restaurateur Diane Symms has pushed for the council to work on anti-clustering measures after marijuana stores opened to either side of her restaurant on the Bothell-Everett Highway, south of Mill Creek.
“There’s a limited number of licenses available to the county, so they should be spread out, not clustered in one or two areas as they are now,” she said Wednesday.
Complaints about pot stores include illegal drug activity in parking lots and the amount of in-and-out traffic.
For the Feb. 8 hearing, the council will consider a buffer of up to 1 mile between stores. Shorter distances, such as a half-mile or 1,000 feet, also could be on the table.
The minimum separation would be measured from property line to property line, not building to building. The buffer would apply across jurisdictional lines so stores in the county couldn’t locate close to stores operating in a neighboring city.
The draft legislation would impose a limit of 32 pot stores in unincorporated areas. That’s the same as the current combined maximum the state allows for unincorporated Snohomish County, a number that also includes the allotment for some of the area’s smaller cities. The number is intended to restrict any future decisions by the state to grant more licenses. The state Liquor and Cannabis Board allows about one store per 12,000 residents.
The County Council could decide to make permits for marijuana retailers a conditional use, subjecting them to a hearings process. Neighbors would receive notices about the proposal. The county hearing examiner could approve or deny a permit. The examiner also could impose conditions for setbacks and business hours.
No action took place at Wednesday’s council hearing, which was a formality required by state growth laws after the emergency moratorium was extended.
Speakers included three people who said the moratorium has prevented them from opening businesses. Each spoke of working with county planning staff to follow code and investing hundreds of thousands of dollars. It remains to be seen how the new rules the council is considering might affect people in their position.
“I’m over six months without business — no income — I’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Justin Ruiz, who had hoped to reopen his business, Hypeherbally, last summer.
Ruiz previously operated the business as a medical dispensary and paid taxes, but said he was stymied when he tried to open at a new location.
“I’m trying to play by the book with you guys forever,” he said. “Just please honor that and help me.”
Washington voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2012 with Initiative 502. The drug remains illegal under federal law. Incoming President Donald Trump has suggested that the question of legalizing pot should be left up to individual states. Trump’s nominee for attorney general, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, has taken a hard line opposing legalization.
The council’s hearing on marijuana stores is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Feb. 8 in Snohomish County Council chambers on the eighth floor of the Robert Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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