Pubdate: Fri, 25 Dec 2015
Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK)
Copyright: 2015 Alaska Dispatch Publishing
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14
Author: Devin Kelly

ANCHORAGE NEIGHBORHOODS BRACE FOR RUSH OF MARIJUANA APPLICATIONS

Sooner or later, anyone hoping for a permit to grow, test, 
manufacture or sell marijuana products in an Anchorage neighborhood 
will need to meet face-to-face with neighbors -- and sooner may be better.

Neighborhood groups and community councils have no regulatory 
authority to block a proposed marijuana business or require certain 
conditions. But Anchorage Assembly members, who do have the 
regulatory authority, have said they plan to take those sentiments 
into account as Alaska continues on the path to commercial marijuana. 
And industry representatives have taken note.

"A number of Assembly members already projected (that) they're going 
to look to community councils extensively for feedback," said Bruce 
Schulte, chair of the state Marijuana Control Board.

Both state and proposed local regulations contain built-in 
requirements for neighborhood feedback on marijuana businesses when 
applications start to roll in next spring. State regulations require 
notification to all residents within a 500-foot radius of the 
proposed business site, as well as the community council in the area.

Proposed city regulations require a "community meeting" to be held 
before an application can be submitted for a local special use 
permit. The draft city regulations, which are being reviewed by the 
city Planning and Zoning Commission, also currently contain a 
requirement for a "neighborhood responsibility plan" -- an idea drawn 
from Colorado that is not required in the alcohol license application process.

In recent weeks, Assembly members have been warning councils -- where 
attitudes toward marijuana businesses range from welcoming to hostile 
- -- to get ready for what Chair Dick Traini termed a potential 
"firestorm," at least initially, when the application process opens 
up in late February next year.

Some have already formed special committees to review marijuana 
applications within required notice periods. One of the most 
proactive councils, in Fairview, has even drafted a two-page 
resolution outlining how it would prefer to review and give feedback 
on future applications that will be coming before the Assembly.

"There's a chance we're going to be a pretty high-target area," said 
Christopher Constant, president of the Fairview Community Council. 
"We decided we wanted to be ready."

Based on current zoning, likely locations for future marijuana 
businesses include downtown and Fairview; Midtown and Spenard; 
Muldoon and the Dimond area. Chugiak-Eagle River has vacant 
industrial land, but city planners have said they expect marijuana 
businesses to try to locate in existing industrial buildings for cost reasons.

Industry members and aspiring marijuana business owners say they're 
taking the community involvement aspect seriously.

Earlier in December, Schulte and Kim Kole of the Alaska Marijuana 
Industry Association stood before a roomful of community council 
representatives at a monthly Federation of Community Councils meeting 
to give a presentation on regulations and the industry.

The two speakers opened by saying they had told would-be operators to 
start talking to their neighbors, pronto.

"We have already talked to everyone we know: 'Don't wait until the 
last minute. Make sure you get engaged,'" Kole told the audience.

Being proactive in Fairview

Nick Miller is one prospective business owner following the 
recommendation to engage. For the past several months, Miller has 
been attending community council meetings in Fairview. He and his 
wife earlier this year bought property along East Fifth Avenue with 
plans to open a retail marijuana store.

"I felt it was important, not to just show up as some stranger ... 
(but) get to know them, get to know the community, and what 
challenges they're facing already," Miller said.

In Fairview, those challenges have included battles with nonprofits 
and liquor store operators in the neighborhood, most recently the 
now-shuttered Spirits of Alaska store. Some of that experience has 
fueled the neighborhood's proactive stance on commercial marijuana: 
In recent weeks, the council has drafted a resolution that outlines 
its preferred method of contact for prospective businesses and makes 
clear to the Assembly that silence from the council is not a non-objection.

At the same time, the council is not hostile to marijuana business, 
Constant said. He said a straw poll at a recent council meeting found 
unanimous support for bringing the industry to the neighborhood. But 
he said past experience with difficult operators has made the council 
more wary.

For that reason, Constant said Miller's presence at meetings has been 
"super high value."

Miller also started a group, the Anchorage Cannabis Business 
Association, that is focusing on local issues and stressing the 
importance of working with community councils and other neighborhood 
groups. Miller said he's seen firsthand how councils can influence 
the Assembly.

But for now, nearly everyone in his group is struggling simply to 
find business locations, which would be the first step, Miller said.

Draft city regulations restrict marijuana retail stores to commercial 
areas, and cultivation and manufacturing facilities to industrial 
areas. The city is also seeking to expand and modify the state's list 
of venues that require a 500-foot buffer. Those venues now include 
schools, jails, churches and neighborhood recreation centers, and 
Anchorage hopes to add community centers, parks, therapy centers for 
those with disabilities and halfway houses.

Neighborhood organizing

At the December meeting of the Federation of Community Councils, 
Assembly Chair Dick Traini directed council representatives to form 
special committees on marijuana and plan to meet over the summer.

"The initial rush is going to be a firestorm of people," Traini said.

Ernie Hall, chair of the Assembly's own committee on marijuana 
regulation and taxation, said he would expect between 10 and 20 
applications to land before community councils per month after the 
state license application opens in late February.

Anchorage has nearly 40 community councils. Some only meet several 
times a year; others meet monthly and have various committees.

Northstar Community Council President Sam Moore said he isn't 
detecting too much "NIMBY-ism" among members so far. But in nearby 
Spenard, president Phil Isley said he expected his council to be critical.

"(The council is) hell on liquor licenses, they're hell on new 
development of most types," Isley said. He said he expected would-be 
operators would likely have to address issues like lights, traffic 
and odors in order to earn the council's endorsement.

Midtown Community Council President Karen Dechman said she was 
writing to the city Planning and Zoning Commission to ask for more 
time to review the draft regulations. She said that while the Midtown 
council is pro-business and generally more concerned about alcohol 
than marijuana, there had been no contact from officials.

"We've got many millions of dollars of commercial real estate in 
Midtown, and this could have an impact on them," Dechman said.

Other councils have been slower to become involved. Jeff Landfield, 
chair of the Taku-Campbell Community Council, which includes the 
Dimond area, said there's been some discussion but no decisions yet 
about committees or special guidelines.

The same was true for Chugiak, a neighborhood with industrial land 
that could potentially be developed for manufacturing or cultivation 
facilities. Council President Maria Rentz said in an email that 
members didn't show much interest or concern when the topic came up 
at a November meeting.

More activity can be expected in the next two months, however. Bonnie 
Harris, the chair of the Federation of Community Councils and a South 
Addition Community Council member, said the federation is planning to 
send out documents soon that tell councils how to prepare for 
applications from marijuana businesses.

"We don't want not to be ready for the onslaught expected to come in 
after Feb. 24," Harris said, referring to the date the state will 
start accepting applications.

She said the federation has also formed a "Marijuana Neighborhood 
Impact" committee to help roll the ball forward.

In December, Traini told the Federation of Community Councils that 
councils should not pass outright bans on marijuana businesses. But 
that's already the case in the Muldoon area, where the Northeast 
Community Council has spent years grappling with problems related to 
alcohol and homelessness. In February, the council voted 19-0 against 
allowing commercial marijuana shops in the area, though it is forming 
a marijuana committee nonetheless.

"I think a lot of people are going to be against it, and not want 
it," said Kevin Smestad, the current chair of the committee. But, he 
said, "It's going to happen somewhere."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom