Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
The Bandon City Council has unanimously adopted an ordinance regarding the siting of recreational marijuana facilities within the light industrial and general commercial zones inside city limits.
A public hearing on the issue was held Monday night.
The city already has an ordinance on the books, adopted in 2015, that provides for the siting of medical marijuana facilities, but does not have one for recreational facilities.
At the request of the council in August, the Planning Department worked on an ordinance to address the siting of recreational facilities.
A public hearing was held before the Planning Commission on Sept. 28. At that meeting, staff presented a report to the commission with language similar to that in the medical marijuana ordinance. Staff recommended adding additional language regarding commercial design standards, required distance between facilities selling marijuana products and locating the business in a permanent location.
While the commission agreed to the added conditions, they also voted to recommend lowering the buffer radius around school buildings from 1500 linear feet to 1000 linear feet and to remove the Head Start facility on Fillmore Avenue from the buffered properties because the facility does not create school-aged foot traffic.
Based on the direction of the Planning Commission, a 1000 linear foot radius was drawn around each of the schools in Bandon to determine which properties would be affected by the proposed ordinance. The proposal would have opened up more than 200 tax lots within the controlled development and light industrial zones outside of the 1000 foot buffer radius where the facilities could be located.
Despite the department's recommendations, the council decided to keep the recreational marijuana facility ordinance identical to the already adopted medical marijuana facility ordinance.
Part of their decision was based on public testimony at both the commission and council hearings, in which speakers adamantly opposed taking the Head Start building out of the buffer zone or changing the radius of the buffer zone.
"I'm here as an advocate for our 3- and 4-year-olds," said resident Roger Straus at Monday's hearing. "I understand the state didn't include (Head Start facilities in buffer zones for marijuana facilities) and that is a mistake."
Straus added that he felt it wasn't logical to remove the Head Start building from the buffer zone and that there are plenty of areas where recreational marijuana facilities can be located under current regulations.
"I think we don't want to end up like Coos Bay, where there's a green cross every quarter mile on Highway 101," Straus said.
George Davis, who owns property near the Head Start building, said he was also opposed to the proposed changes. The Planning Commission wanted to change the boundaries to make it easier and less expensive to establish a recreational facility.
"As a property owning Bandon resident, I do not feel the Planning Commission considered how the changes they made would affect residents in our city," Davis said. "Businesses are not everything that makes Bandon such a great city to live it."
Gail Swan said she was concerned that the proposed changes would negatively affect her residential neighborhood, which borders a controlled development zone.
Resident Rob Taylor said no rule or regulation is going to stop children or anyone from using marijuana. He argued that cigarettes are allowed to be sold within a few feet of the elementary school property and that people die from tobacco use, but "no one ever died from pot."
"We voted for this," Taylor said. "I'm one of those people that thinks we don't need more regulations ... but we can't be acting holier than thou because some children might see something they question. That's good and it's a time to educate them. ... If you want to teach kids not to smoke pot, educate them."
Planning Commissioner Sheryl Bremmer explained to the council how the commission came up with the proposed changes and gently admonished them for asking for recommendations without clear guidelines.
During deliberations, Councilor Brian Vick said he would like the city to be able to collect tax revenue from a marijuana facility.
Such a tax couldn't be enacted by the council without a vote of the people, however.
Mayor Mary Schamehorn said she feels marijuana facility tax revenue is not as high as purported, and cited newspaper articles to support her claim. Councilor Madeline Seymour said she saw nothing wrong with the 2015 medical marijuana ordinance and made a motion to add the words "recreational" to the ordinance's language.
Based on the current regulations, medical and now recreational marijuana facilities can be located on Seabird Drive just off U.S. Highway 101, on some properties just south of city limits and on a few properties located near the Bandon Shopping Center.
There are currently no medical or recreational marijuana dispensaries or applications for such before the city of Bandon, but the Planning Department said there have been inquiries.
Bremmer told the council that the owner of a property along the stretch of U.S. Highway 101 between 15th and Seabird Drive has applied to the county for a permit to operate a marijuana facility there, but the city has no say in how that county property is developed.
Background
The State of Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3460 and was signed by Governor Kitzhaber on Aug. 14, 2013. The bill allowed medical dispensaries to be open through a licensing process by the State of Oregon.
After an initial moratorium on medical marijuana sales was adopted in May, 2014, the Bandon City Council addressed the issue of the siting of medical marijuana dispensaries and passed Ordinance Number 1616 in May, 2015.
The ordinance states that facilities are conditional uses permitted only in general commercial (C-2) or light industrial (LI) zones, and cannot be located within 1,500 linear feet of a school or Head Start facility. No marijuana production may occur onsite at a dispensary, and each facility must use an air filtration and ventilation system to confine objectionable odors.
In addition, anyone convicted of the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance once or more in the previous five years, or twice in a lifetime, cannot be an operator or employee, or have a financial interest in a dispensary.
The City Council also limited operating hours for medical marijuana facilities to any eight hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The facilities may not feature a sign promoting or showing any product and minimum parking requirements will be one space per 600 square feet of floor area, plus one space for every two employees.
Measure 91, the recreational marijuana use legislation, was passed by Oregon voters at the Nov. 4, 2014 election. The Bandon City Council opted to place a moratorium on recreational facilities at the time of the adoption of Ordinance Number 1616, to provide them with more time to research the topic before making a decision.
No further action was taken by the city regarding recreational marijuana until a City Council meeting in August, when the issue of recreational marijuana facilities returned and the council directed staff to develop a recommendation for an ordinance addressing the siting of recreational marijuana facilities.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Bandon approves recreational marijuana ordinance | Bandon News | theworldlink.com
Author: AMY MOSS STRONG
Contact: Contact Us | theworldlink.com
Photo Credit: MGN Graphics
Website: Bandon Western World | theworldlink.com
A public hearing on the issue was held Monday night.
The city already has an ordinance on the books, adopted in 2015, that provides for the siting of medical marijuana facilities, but does not have one for recreational facilities.
At the request of the council in August, the Planning Department worked on an ordinance to address the siting of recreational facilities.
A public hearing was held before the Planning Commission on Sept. 28. At that meeting, staff presented a report to the commission with language similar to that in the medical marijuana ordinance. Staff recommended adding additional language regarding commercial design standards, required distance between facilities selling marijuana products and locating the business in a permanent location.
While the commission agreed to the added conditions, they also voted to recommend lowering the buffer radius around school buildings from 1500 linear feet to 1000 linear feet and to remove the Head Start facility on Fillmore Avenue from the buffered properties because the facility does not create school-aged foot traffic.
Based on the direction of the Planning Commission, a 1000 linear foot radius was drawn around each of the schools in Bandon to determine which properties would be affected by the proposed ordinance. The proposal would have opened up more than 200 tax lots within the controlled development and light industrial zones outside of the 1000 foot buffer radius where the facilities could be located.
Despite the department's recommendations, the council decided to keep the recreational marijuana facility ordinance identical to the already adopted medical marijuana facility ordinance.
Part of their decision was based on public testimony at both the commission and council hearings, in which speakers adamantly opposed taking the Head Start building out of the buffer zone or changing the radius of the buffer zone.
"I'm here as an advocate for our 3- and 4-year-olds," said resident Roger Straus at Monday's hearing. "I understand the state didn't include (Head Start facilities in buffer zones for marijuana facilities) and that is a mistake."
Straus added that he felt it wasn't logical to remove the Head Start building from the buffer zone and that there are plenty of areas where recreational marijuana facilities can be located under current regulations.
"I think we don't want to end up like Coos Bay, where there's a green cross every quarter mile on Highway 101," Straus said.
George Davis, who owns property near the Head Start building, said he was also opposed to the proposed changes. The Planning Commission wanted to change the boundaries to make it easier and less expensive to establish a recreational facility.
"As a property owning Bandon resident, I do not feel the Planning Commission considered how the changes they made would affect residents in our city," Davis said. "Businesses are not everything that makes Bandon such a great city to live it."
Gail Swan said she was concerned that the proposed changes would negatively affect her residential neighborhood, which borders a controlled development zone.
Resident Rob Taylor said no rule or regulation is going to stop children or anyone from using marijuana. He argued that cigarettes are allowed to be sold within a few feet of the elementary school property and that people die from tobacco use, but "no one ever died from pot."
"We voted for this," Taylor said. "I'm one of those people that thinks we don't need more regulations ... but we can't be acting holier than thou because some children might see something they question. That's good and it's a time to educate them. ... If you want to teach kids not to smoke pot, educate them."
Planning Commissioner Sheryl Bremmer explained to the council how the commission came up with the proposed changes and gently admonished them for asking for recommendations without clear guidelines.
During deliberations, Councilor Brian Vick said he would like the city to be able to collect tax revenue from a marijuana facility.
Such a tax couldn't be enacted by the council without a vote of the people, however.
Mayor Mary Schamehorn said she feels marijuana facility tax revenue is not as high as purported, and cited newspaper articles to support her claim. Councilor Madeline Seymour said she saw nothing wrong with the 2015 medical marijuana ordinance and made a motion to add the words "recreational" to the ordinance's language.
Based on the current regulations, medical and now recreational marijuana facilities can be located on Seabird Drive just off U.S. Highway 101, on some properties just south of city limits and on a few properties located near the Bandon Shopping Center.
There are currently no medical or recreational marijuana dispensaries or applications for such before the city of Bandon, but the Planning Department said there have been inquiries.
Bremmer told the council that the owner of a property along the stretch of U.S. Highway 101 between 15th and Seabird Drive has applied to the county for a permit to operate a marijuana facility there, but the city has no say in how that county property is developed.
Background
The State of Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3460 and was signed by Governor Kitzhaber on Aug. 14, 2013. The bill allowed medical dispensaries to be open through a licensing process by the State of Oregon.
After an initial moratorium on medical marijuana sales was adopted in May, 2014, the Bandon City Council addressed the issue of the siting of medical marijuana dispensaries and passed Ordinance Number 1616 in May, 2015.
The ordinance states that facilities are conditional uses permitted only in general commercial (C-2) or light industrial (LI) zones, and cannot be located within 1,500 linear feet of a school or Head Start facility. No marijuana production may occur onsite at a dispensary, and each facility must use an air filtration and ventilation system to confine objectionable odors.
In addition, anyone convicted of the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance once or more in the previous five years, or twice in a lifetime, cannot be an operator or employee, or have a financial interest in a dispensary.
The City Council also limited operating hours for medical marijuana facilities to any eight hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The facilities may not feature a sign promoting or showing any product and minimum parking requirements will be one space per 600 square feet of floor area, plus one space for every two employees.
Measure 91, the recreational marijuana use legislation, was passed by Oregon voters at the Nov. 4, 2014 election. The Bandon City Council opted to place a moratorium on recreational facilities at the time of the adoption of Ordinance Number 1616, to provide them with more time to research the topic before making a decision.
No further action was taken by the city regarding recreational marijuana until a City Council meeting in August, when the issue of recreational marijuana facilities returned and the council directed staff to develop a recommendation for an ordinance addressing the siting of recreational marijuana facilities.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Bandon approves recreational marijuana ordinance | Bandon News | theworldlink.com
Author: AMY MOSS STRONG
Contact: Contact Us | theworldlink.com
Photo Credit: MGN Graphics
Website: Bandon Western World | theworldlink.com
