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A city moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses enacted last month could be lifted as early as Monday, Aug. 12, clearing the way for cannabis entrepreneurs to apply for state licenses.
Before a public hearing on the moratorium, scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, city staff will introduce two options for rules allowing recreational marijuana businesses in certain parts of the city.
One option would allow growing, processing and selling of marijuana only in industrial parts of the city. The other option would expand retail sales into commercial areas in addition to industrial.
Critics of the moratorium, which prohibits growing, processing or selling marijuana in the city for up to a year, feared it would delay or even squander a business opportunity that could come as early as Dec. 1 - the date the state Liquor Control Board said it could start issuing licenses.
To get a state license, an applicant must know where the business will be located - something that can't be decided as long as the moratorium is in place. The application period is open only for 30 days beginning Sept. 16. This time pressure prompted city officials to move quickly to end the moratorium.
"The whole point of this was to ensure we could do it right, in time for people to participate," council member Cathy Lehman said in an interview on Thursday, Aug. 8.
The proposed rules for siting marijuana businesses would be adopted as an emergency measure, short-cutting some of the public process, so they could be in effect before Sept. 16. Adoption of emergency rules requires five "yes" votes from the council. Permanent rules take at least three months to adopt and could be finalized in 2014, assistant city attorney Alan Marriner said.
Council member Seth Fleetwood predicted on Thursday that one of the two options will be approved, and the moratorium lifted, on Monday. The council takes a summer break after that and doesn't reconvene until Sept. 16.
"We want to give people some reasonable advance notice," Fleetwood said.
Council also will hold a public hearing on emergency rules put in place on July 1 that limit medical marijuana "collective gardens" to industrial locations, while marijuana grown for patients' personal use could be grown in their own homes.
A Seattle-based group called Cannabis Action Coalition filed a lawsuit against the city last month challenging the medical marijuana siting rules, claiming they are too restrictive.
ATTEND THE MEETING
What: Bellingham City Council will hold public two public hearings related to marijuana. The first is on a moratorium on recreational marijuana. The second one is over interim restrictions on siting medical marijuana operations. Council will consider options for siting recreational marijuana businesses.
When: 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12.
Where: City Hall, 210 Lottie St.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: bellinghamherald.com
Author: Ralph Schwartz
Contact: The Bellingham Herald & BellinghamHerald.com: Contact Us
Website: Bellingham seeks quick end to marijuana moratorium | Local News | The Bellingham Herald
Before a public hearing on the moratorium, scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, city staff will introduce two options for rules allowing recreational marijuana businesses in certain parts of the city.
One option would allow growing, processing and selling of marijuana only in industrial parts of the city. The other option would expand retail sales into commercial areas in addition to industrial.
Critics of the moratorium, which prohibits growing, processing or selling marijuana in the city for up to a year, feared it would delay or even squander a business opportunity that could come as early as Dec. 1 - the date the state Liquor Control Board said it could start issuing licenses.
To get a state license, an applicant must know where the business will be located - something that can't be decided as long as the moratorium is in place. The application period is open only for 30 days beginning Sept. 16. This time pressure prompted city officials to move quickly to end the moratorium.
"The whole point of this was to ensure we could do it right, in time for people to participate," council member Cathy Lehman said in an interview on Thursday, Aug. 8.
The proposed rules for siting marijuana businesses would be adopted as an emergency measure, short-cutting some of the public process, so they could be in effect before Sept. 16. Adoption of emergency rules requires five "yes" votes from the council. Permanent rules take at least three months to adopt and could be finalized in 2014, assistant city attorney Alan Marriner said.
Council member Seth Fleetwood predicted on Thursday that one of the two options will be approved, and the moratorium lifted, on Monday. The council takes a summer break after that and doesn't reconvene until Sept. 16.
"We want to give people some reasonable advance notice," Fleetwood said.
Council also will hold a public hearing on emergency rules put in place on July 1 that limit medical marijuana "collective gardens" to industrial locations, while marijuana grown for patients' personal use could be grown in their own homes.
A Seattle-based group called Cannabis Action Coalition filed a lawsuit against the city last month challenging the medical marijuana siting rules, claiming they are too restrictive.
ATTEND THE MEETING
What: Bellingham City Council will hold public two public hearings related to marijuana. The first is on a moratorium on recreational marijuana. The second one is over interim restrictions on siting medical marijuana operations. Council will consider options for siting recreational marijuana businesses.
When: 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12.
Where: City Hall, 210 Lottie St.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: bellinghamherald.com
Author: Ralph Schwartz
Contact: The Bellingham Herald & BellinghamHerald.com: Contact Us
Website: Bellingham seeks quick end to marijuana moratorium | Local News | The Bellingham Herald
