WA: Pot Shops Sprouting In Pullman Area

Katelyn Baker;3046109 said:

The marijuana market in Pullman and Whitman County may soon be saturated.

In the span of about a week, one business owner has applied to set up a pot shop in Whitman County and two have applied for spots in Pullman. If the businesses get the green light, both the city and county will reach the maximum number of marijuana retailers allotted by the state.

In Whitman County, Premium Roast LLC of Seattle has applied to set up a retail shop at the intersection of the Pullman-Moscow Highway and Airport Road. The 8-acre site, formerly occupied by Crossroads Nursery, is about 0.8 miles from the Idaho state line.

The company applied last week for a conditional-use permit for the site, according to Whitman County Planner Alan Thomson. There will be a public hearing on the permit Oct. 6.

“My job is to make sure that the application complies with codes, and it does, as far as I’m concerned,” Thomson said.

Thomson said the company has already completed the environmental assessment required by the state.

The board of adjustment’s decision can be appealed to the Washington Supreme Court within a span of 24 days after minutes from the public hearing on the permit are published, Thomson said.

If that period passes without any appeals, the company is “in the clear,” Thomson said, and can move on to addressing licensing requirements from the state’s liquor and cannabis board.

Whitman County has one marijuana retailer out of two allowed by the state. Bud Hut, at 5602 State Route 270, is about 2.7 miles closer to Pullman than the proposed shop. Bud Hut opened in July.

In Pullman, Planning Director Pete Dickinson said the department received notice this week from the liquor and cannabis board that two business owners have applied to open shops next door to each other in a former grain elevator.

The applications in the city come after a moratorium on new marijuana businesses was lifted earlier this month. The moratorium had been in place since November as the city worked to consolidate its code with 2015 Washington legislation.

Pullman is now allowed a total of five marijuana retailers, an increase from the initial three allotted by the state. Three shops have opened, all located along Southeast Bishop Boulevard.

The two new applicants are interested in the grain elevator at 350 N.E. Stadium Way, Dickinson said. The businesses would split the building into two units, he said, provided they confirm their location in their business permit applications.

Revised city codes have expanded the area of the city open to marijuana retailers. The state of Washington mandates 1,000-foot buffer zones between the shops and schools and playgrounds, but the city also requires buffers of 500 feet from libraries, parks, arcades and child care centers.

Dickinson said marijuana retailers along Bishop Boulevard have expressed “general interest” in relocating, but none have yet moved.

The names of the owners who have applied to open shops on Stadium Way were not released Friday. Mikhail Carpenter, a spokesperson for the liquor and cannabis board, confirmed there are two applications in process.

The only requirements the city has of the applicants is a building permit to change the occupancy of the grain elevator, Dickinson said. The permit is internally reviewed by the city.

“If they are able to comply with all the code regulations, then a permit is issued,” Dickinson said.

All marijuana shop applicants must then undergo a “rigorous” licensing process with the liquor and cannabis board, Carpenter said. The process includes a financial investigation, state and federal background checks, installation of security systems and compliance with all other state codes. After a final inspection, Carpenter said the businesses must then pay any required fees before the license is issued.

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Full Article: Pot Shops Sprouting In Pullman Area
Author: Chelsea Embree
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Photo Credit: Brennan Linsley
Website: The Spokesman-Review

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