Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2014
Source: Daily World, The (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Daily World
Contact:  http://www.thedailyworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2094
Author: Angelo Bruscas

OCEAN SHORES COUNCIL LIFTS MARIJUANA MORATORIUM, ALLOWING RETAIL LOCATION

The Ocean Shores City Council, by a 5-2 vote, passed a resolution 
Monday night that removes the city's moratorium on a retail marijuana 
business within city limits, effectively allowing a pending 
application with the state Liquor Control Board to move toward final approval.

With council members John Schroeder and Ginny Hill voting against the 
measure, the rest of the council members said they wanted to end 
months of debate over the issue, turning back efforts to continue the 
moratorium or attempt to ask for further clarification about the 
pending location's proximity to the city's skatepark or public beaches.

The resolution states: "At this time, the City Council intends to end 
the moratorium and site the retail marijuana outlet per the 
Washington State Liquor Control Boards's rules without additional 
City rules and zoning; however, the outlet must obtain a City 
business license and obey all laws and rules set forth by the City and State."

The pending applicant, Ryan Kunkel of the Seattle area, spoke to the 
council and said he was hoping to open at the current chosen 
location, the Zimmerman Building at Ocean Shores Boulevard.

Kunkel and his company Green Outfitters was awarded Ocean Shores' one 
retail marijuana license under the state's new legalization 
initiative, with licensing run by the Liquor Control Board. The 
license is being reviewed by the state after a lottery involving 
three applicants for the right to sell marijuana in the city.

A zoning map initially prepared by the city and reviewed by the 
Planning Commission had considered the entire beach as establishing a 
1,000-foot buffer from any such establishment. State regulations 
mandate that marijuana businesses may not be located within 1,000 
feet of schools, playgrounds, recreation centers, childcare centers, 
public parks, public transit centers, libraries or game arcades. The 
other debate has been about whether the city's skatepark, located 
less than 1,000 feet from the proposed location, would meet the 
definition of a public park under the buffer.

Mayor Crystal Dingler on Monday night told the council that the state 
had determined the skatepark did not meet the definition, and that 
the state also didn't have an issue with having residential units 
above a retail marijuana location.

The city's draft of the resolution noted that Initiative No. 502 was 
"passed by the citizens allowed the licensing and regulation of the 
production, processing, and retail sale of recreational marijuana for 
persons over 21, removed state-law criminal and civil penalties for 
the activities that it authorizes, established taxes, and earmarked 
those funds."

Several of the council members said they had voted against the 
initiative but were not going to let that influence their decision in 
allowing a business to move forward under the new law.

Gordon Broadbent read a prepared statement that said he voted against 
the measure because he felt it "would lead to a slippery slope."

"But my position was rejected and recreational use of pot is now 
legal in the state of Washington. As your representative, it is now 
my job to interpret and follow the law."

"It is with a heavy heart that I will vote tonight to follow the will 
of the citizens and the rules of the Liquor Control Board," Broadbent 
continued. "Unless someone can show me a legal reason to disapprove 
sales in Ocean Shores, I will vote for the Liquor Control Board's 
zoning recommendations and to end the current moratorium."

Dingler presented the council with a set of multiple choices on what 
they could do, noting the council may still need to determine how to 
handle a future medical marijuana application or the potential issue 
of a growing and production operation.

Resident Don Williams requested that Dingler make public a record of 
the state's determination that the skatepark and the beaches were not 
considered public parks, and warned that the a retail marijuana store 
would bring law enforcement and emergency service problems without 
any new funds or resources to pay for such burdens.

"There's going to be a problem that is going to cost the city money 
to have this facility in town," Williams said, playing audio of a 
news report about increased problems in Colorado, where retail 
marijuana sales already are legal. "If you don't believe me, look at Colorado."

Planning Commission member Holly Plackett, who presented a minority 
report urging opposition to the proposed location, defended the 
commission's request to ask for further clarification on the buffer issues.

"The intention of the 1,000-foot buffer is to protect our children," 
she said, asking the council to dispute the state's ruling the 
skatepark didn't qualify.

"I think you should stand firm that the skatepark is a public park 
that falls within the 1,000-foot buffer, and that location should 
probably not be sited," Plackett said.

The council majority, however, felt otherwise, with members John 
Lynn, Randy Scott, Dan Overton (who made the initial motion), 
Broadbent and Jackie Farra voting both for the resolution and for a 
follow-up measure to officially remove the moratorium.

Kunkel, the license holder, said there would be no residential units 
above the proposed business, which would use the apartments over the 
location for employees and offices. Signs, he added, are regulated 
and must be no larger than 1,660 square inches.

"Children walking by will never know what we are," Kunkel said. The 
sign will say REC 21. "That's it... . It's a very clean operation."

Schroeder acknowledged he was still confused about the issue of what 
was considered a park and voted against both measures. Hill, while 
chastising the Planning Commission for its lack of a clear 
recommendation, also cited the issues with the buffer definitions 
used by the state in her opposition.

"This was the beginnings of a city park that was to be expanded upon 
in the future," Hill said of the plans for the skatepark, which is 
the city's newest park. "If you vote to allow this (marijuana 
business) where it is, then why do we have a plan at all for the 
city? ... I'm not ready to vote on this."

Hill urged further consideration of the options initially laid out in 
the resolution, and that the council "not be pushed because somebody 
wants to open a business before we are ready to open a business."

Lynn said he, too, voted against the initiative but his 17 years in 
public office has given him a perspective that pushed him to fulfill 
the will of the voters. "When the public asks for something, as they 
did in the state, the county and the city, when they said yes to 
recreational marijuana, my responsibility then is to try to make it 
work for all the people the best that we can." he said.

After the vote, Kunkel said he was relieved and hadn't known what to 
expect from the proceedings.

"This means we can go to work now," said Kunkel who already operates 
Have a Heart medical marijuana clinics in the Seattle area.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom