I understand the struggle localities are having over how to govern land use concerning cannabis growing and processing. City and county councils have been meeting over this issue for well over a year. Some have found it too difficult to separate fear from fact and have defaulted to banning cannabis businesses within their jurisdictions — often citing that they aren’t getting any of the excise tax money so they’re completely unmotivated to pave a path for the unknown, untested industry.
Others have openly embraced the new frontier only to find themselves flooded with interest from applicants still hoping to land a spot for their business. In some cases, the overwhelming number of interested applicants has spurred municipalities to close the door and grandfather in the few they feel they can handle. A scant few localities have kept the doors open and are working hand in hand with producers, processors and retailers to make it happen.
An interesting line of language was inserted into House Bill 2136 that states “a city, town or county may adopt an ordinance prohibiting a marijuana producer or marijuana processor from operating or locating a business within areas zoned primarily for residential use or rural use with a minimum lot size of five acres or smaller.”
Those of us with a home on their property need to pay attention to this. Many types of zones can have a resident upon it; small farms to light industrial parcels could be greatly affected by this if the local governing body does not want the use. However, it does appear to protect those that are on more than five acres against bans. I appreciate the state Legislature for giving this guidance and believe this will calm some NIMBY (not in my backyard) fears as residential clusters continue to blend into traditional farmland.
Another show of positive state guidance has come from the State Building Code Council, which implemented emergency rules to provide operational and construction permit requirements for marijuana extraction. The rules are designed to establish specific requirements for handling hazardous materials, establish inspection standards, and provide construction and permit requirements to ensure the safety of occupants, first responders and the general public.
The State Building Code Council is deliberating potential rules to apply to producers and processors statewide. The council will conduct public hearings in September in Spokane and October in Olympia; those permanent rules would be implemented by July 1, 2016.
I am happy that we are seeing positive engagement from the state to help smooth the road and level the playing field for our new industry. If I were to make any recommendations to those in other states that will be grappling with land use and building code issues as legal cannabis crawls across the country, it would be to start the process by educating state rule makers and implementing basic building blocks that local jurisdictions can expand upon prior to rolling out applications and issuing licenses.
Shawn DeNae is CEO of Washington Bud Company, an aspiring applicant for a producer/processor license. She is one of the founding members of the Marijuana Business Association Women’s Alliance.