EVERETT — A moratorium barring new marijuana businesses from opening in Snohomish County has been extended into March to give policymakers more time to draft rules to prevent them from clustering in commercial districts outside of city limits.
The temporary ban had been set to expire next week. The County Council took emergency action Wednesday to keep it in place for another three months.
There was no prior notice before the 4-0 vote.
The council first imposed the moratorium in June in response to the large number of pot vendors cropping up in unincorporated urban areas. More than a dozen dot Highway 99 between Lynnwood and Everett. Another four operate within a half-mile along the Bothell-Everett Highway between Mill Creek and Bothell.
The situation became more pronounced after the state doubled the allotment of pot retail licenses in Snohomish County from 16 to 32. That was part of an effort to merge the marketplaces for recreational and medicinal marijuana, which took effect July 1.
Voters legalized weed for recreational use in 2012 through Initiative 502, and the first state-licensed stores opened on July 8, 2014.
County Councilman Ken Klein, an Arlington Republican who is set to leave the council for another county job at the end of the month, tempered his vote with a request to respect state-licensed marijuana sellers who have attempted to follow the law.
“I’m going to hesitantly support the ordinance today,” Klein said.
There was no public comment period on the issue. A man at the back of the council chambers stood up to ask if he could speak but was not given the opportunity. A public hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Jan. 18.
Councilmembers Terry Ryan and Stephanie Wright have taken the lead on the clustering issue, which disproportionately affects their districts covering southern parts of the county.
Ryan has said he would like to see at least a mile of separation between any future marijuana retailers. In response to similar concerns, the King County Council earlier this year imposed a new rule requiring a 1,000-foot separation. State law does not address that point.
Without further County Council action, the extended moratorium would expire March 14.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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