County hearing Tuesday on ways to regulate marijuana

EVERETT — Marijuana-enterprise owners are expected to plead for their businesses at a public hearing before the Snohomish County Planning Commission on Tuesday.

Neighbors who oppose pot operations also plan to weigh in before the commission makes a recommendation to the County Council.

The council asked for recommendations as it considers amending the rules for marijuana businesses in the spring. In October, the council imposed a temporary moratorium on new pot operations in some of the county’s rural areas after some neighbors voiced opposition.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Meantime, an emergency ordinance is in place until April 1. It bans state-licensed growers, processors and retailers in some rural areas that weren’t already in business as of Oct. 1. It also put in place another measure that bans new collective gardens and dispensaries for medical marijuana along a one-mile stretch of Highway 9 in Clearview.

State Initiative 502, passed in 2012, regulates Washington’s recreational marijuana system, but some local jurisdictions have been imposing limited or total bans on such businesses.

The Planning Commission hearing is at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday on the first floor of the Snohomish County Administration Building-East, 3000 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett. After the hearing, the Planning Commission will consider recommendations on regulations to present the County Council.

The prohibition of recreational pot businesses now applies to those in R-5 zones and in the Clearview rural commercial area, which covers about 116 acres along Highway 9. R-5 zones are rural areas where the county typically permits only one house per five acres, with some exceptions.

With increasing political pressure from neighbors and organizations opposed to having marijuana businesses nearby, dozens of existing and would-be producers in the R-5 zone have formed a group known as the R5 Cooperative. The businesses fear that the county might permanently prohibit marijuana producers and retailers after they have invested in launching the businesses. That has happened in a number of jurisdictions across Washington.

The state Liquor Control Board, which regulates I-502 businesses, has approved more than 80 producers and processors in R-5 zones, but there now are four legal marijuana growing and processing businesses operating, having beat the Oct. 1 moratorium.

The county Department of Planning and Development Services has offered four options for commissioners to consider, including doing nothing, making pot operations a conditional use in R-5, banning them in those zones or allowing them with certain development standards:

  • The do-nothing option would keep in place regulations adopted by the County Council in November 2013 which allow state-licensed marijuana production and processing in two rural zones, including R-5, an agricultural zone, and four urban zones.
  • The second option would change pot production and processing to a “conditional use” in the R-5 zone. Operators would have to go through a public-hearing process and demonstrate that their business meets certain standards. The county Hearing Examiner could impose additional requirements to ensure compatibility with the surrounding area and protect the rural character of a neighborhood. Depending on the number of applications, this option could require significant county staff time would be costly for operators.
  • Another option would prohibit pot production and processing in R-5 but continue to allow it in the remaining six zones. Department of Planning and Development Services Director Clay White said this would give the county time to see how such businesses affect surrounding areas. If experience proves the operations are compatible with the R-5 zone, the rules could then be changed.

“It’s the start-small option,” White said, noting his department’s support of it.

Such a ban could be detrimental to dozens of R-5 businesses already in the process of getting up and running.

  • The fourth option would impose a number of requirements to address concerns about marijuana production and processing in R-5 zones, such as setback rules to provide physical separation and additional landscape screening to address such things as lighting, odor and noise.

The R5 Cooperative has hired land-use consultant Reid Shockey to help navigate the complex zoning issues. He wrote a letter to the commission urging it recommend the fourth option to allow grow operations in R-5 zones under certain conditions.

Jamie Curtismith, another advocate for the R5 Cooperative, said the complex regulatory issues have discouraged some operators. A handful of marijuana businesses have decided to leave the county, she said.

“Prohibition is not an option,” she said. “That’s a reefer-madness mentality.”

Curtismith, of Everett, said the marijuana industry needs to quell fears by providing accurate information about how the businesses will affect surrounding areas.

That’s exactly what Alice Johnson has been trying to find out since a grow operation set up shop near her rural Arlington home last year. Johnson said she’s wants to know what goes on at a such a site and what it means for neighbors. She has concerns related to water use, waste disposal, environmental effects, lighting, noise and odor.

“It’s absolutely intolerable,” she said. “It smells like a skunk. It’s not like they’re just growing plants and not offending their neighbors. This just doesn’t belong here.”

The council will hold another public hearing on the matter before making a decision, but a date has not been set.

Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Everett Historic Theater owner Curtis Shriner inside the theater on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Historic Everett Theatre sale on horizon, future uncertain

With expected new ownership, events for July and August will be canceled. The schedule for the fall and beyond is unclear.

Contributed photo from Snohomish County Public Works
Snohomish County Public Works contractor crews have begun their summer 2016 paving work on 13 miles of roadway, primarily in the Monroe and Stanwood areas. This photo is an example of paving work from a previous summer. A new layer of asphalt is put down over the old.
Snohomish County plans to resurface about 76 miles of roads this summer

EVERETT – As part of its annual road maintenance and preservation program,… Continue reading

City of Everett Engineer Tom Hood, left, and City of Everett Engineer and Project Manager Dan Enrico, right, talks about the current Edgewater Bridge demolition on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How do you get rid of a bridge? Everett engineers can explain.

Workers began dismantling the old Edgewater Bridge on May 2. The process could take one to two months, city engineers said.

Smoke from the Bolt Creek fire silhouettes a mountain ridge and trees just outside of Index on Sept. 12, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County will host two wildfire-preparedness meetings in May

Meetings will allow community members to learn wildfire mitigation strategies and connect with a variety of local and state agencies.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Madison Family Shelter Family Support Specialist Dan Blizard talks about one of the pallet homes on Monday, May 19, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Madison Family Shelter reopens after hiatus

The Pallet shelter village, formerly Faith Family Village, provides housing for up to eight families for 90 days.

Washington State Trooper Chris Gadd is transported inside prior to a memorial service in his honor Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Jury selection begins in Everett trial of driver accused in trooper’s death

Jurors questioned on bias, media exposure in the case involving fallen Washington State Patrol trooper Chris Gadd.

Everett
Five arrested in connection with Everett toddler’s 2024 overdose death

More than a year after 13-month-old died, Everett police make arrests in overdose case.

Marysville School Board President Connor Krebbs speaks during a school board meeting before voting on school closures in the district on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Marysville school board president to resign

Connor Krebbs served on the board for nearly four years. He is set to be hired as a staff member at the district.

Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero / Washington State Standard
Labor advocates filled up the governor’s conference room on Monday and watched Gov. Bob Ferguson sign Senate Bill 5041, which extends unemployment insurance to striking workers.
Washington will pay unemployment benefits to striking workers

Labor advocates scored a win on Monday after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.