Pubdate: Sat, 06 Dec 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Evan Bush
Page: B3

POT STORE STAYS OPEN, JUDGE RULES, UNTIL CHURCH'S SUIT HEARD

Uncle Ike's Pot Shop will stay open - for now, at least.

Mount Calvary Christian Center, which is next door to the 
recreational pot store in the Central District, has sued over the 
store's location, and asked a judge to close the store until the 
lawsuit is decided.

King County Superior Court Judge Jean Rietschel on Friday said no.

"An injunction is an extraordinary remedy ... and the burden is on 
the plaintiff," Rietschel said. "I will not grant it."

Mount Calvary Christian Center is suing Uncle Ike's, the city of 
Seattle and the state Liquor Control Board, alleging that the store 
is about 250 feet from a teen center operated by the church.

Marijuana stores are required to be more than 1,000 feet from parks, 
recreation centers, schools and other prohibited venues where kids 
are thought to hang out. Churches are not a prohibited venue.

To get an injunction, the church needed to prove it was likely to win 
the pending lawsuit or that allowing the store to remain open would 
cause irreparable harm.

Rietschel said the church accomplished neither.

The central question in the lawsuit - scheduled to be heard next 
November - is whether the church's teen center is considered a 
recreation center. As defined by state law, a recreation center hosts 
a "broad range of activities."

"At present, the teen center is opened primarily on Sundays for Kidz 
for Christ ministry and on Wednesday nights for youth Bible study and 
two Fridays a month" for youth-group meetings, said Rietschel. "Those 
activities by their types and hours ... do not meet the burden of a 
broad range of activities."

Rietschel also said the church had not proved harm to children if 
Uncle Ike's remained open until the lawsuit is decided. "There's no 
showing of a failure of security at Ike's ... no showing of any sales 
or attempted sales to minors. I don't see any actual showing of 
injury," she said.

Uncle Ike's argued that if the store were to shut down, it would lose 
"approximately $20,000 in sales per day, and in an emerging market 
where market share is crucial."

Last month, Uncle Ike's pulled in $569,615 in revenue, according to 
figures published by the Liquor Control Board.

Ian Eisenberg, who owns Uncle Ike's, said he was pleased to be able 
to conduct "business as usual" and planned to have "a nice sativa 
with lunch" in celebration.

"We'll prove we're good neighbors and do everything we can to help 
the church," Eisenberg said. "We've always wanted dialogue with the church."

The Rev. Reggie Witherspoon of Mount Calvary Christian Center said 
the ruling was disheartening but that the church's fight would 
continue. "It's not over. We're not going away," he said.

Witherspoon said the church would chart a new legal strategy. Would 
he consider dialogue with Uncle Ike's?

"Anything is possible," said Witherspoon. "At this point, I'm feeling 
emotional and disheartened."

Witherspoon said that if the two sides were to talk, he would 
consider pushing to make sure Uncle Ike's wasn't open on Sundays.

In October, another judge denied the church a temporary restraining 
order against Uncle Ike's. The church wanted to stop the marijuana 
store's operations ahead of a harvest festival.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom