Council Drops Moratorium

Next Public Input on Monday, January 26, 9:15 a.m., Council Chambers

— by Margie Doyle —

At the first of two public comment sessions on marijuana regulations before the County Council, most of the spillover crowd in the Legislative Hearing Room opposed a moratorium on marijuana-growing operations.

On Sept. 30 last year, county planning staff proposed a moratorium on marijuana growth and implementation of I-502, joining 109 other state jurisdictions in establishing such a moratorium. San Juan County had previously approached grow operations with “a wait and see approach … based on existing county code,” according to a memo prepared by County Manager Mike Thomas to the County Council and to Sam Gibboney, Head of County Planning and Development.

The moratorium would stop all marijuana growing for the larger (over 2,000 square feet) Tier II and Tier III producers until local regulations are established.

Questions posed to the council by county planner Linda Kuller in August 2014, were:

• Should we address large-scale greenhouses the same, no matter the type of plants grown?
• Are you interested in producers and processors or retail regulations?
• Are you interested in a adopting an emergency ordinance placing a moratorium on the acceptance of new applications for marijuana producers, processors and retailers?

(A complex greenhouse growing operation had been licensed for Sungrown on San Juan Island; however, the difficulties posed by lawsuits from neighbors resulted in the operator closing Sungrown.)

Midway through the Council meet on Jan. 12, the Council agreed to drop its proposition to impose a moratorium.However, questions about regulations and unique land uses posed by marijuana-growing operations remain.

Bob Jarman, newly elected Chair of the County Council, opened the discussion of “Land use regulation of marijuana producers and processors.” He brought up impacts such as noise, smell, road access, power consumption, light, view access, and size.

Then the public spoke:

• Dan Moore welcomed a legal grow operation to prevent exposing his grandkids to the black market through both product and employment;
• Sandy Strehlou (who later said, “I really care about local agriculture, the right to farm, and I hate–really hate–bullying of any kind, whether verbal, political or with the use of lawsuits aimed at destroying one’s target by any means necessary. Cannabis is agriculture. The problems arising out of the local marijuana farm debate are shining a light on the friction between farms and residential development in rural communities like ours. These issues have been percolating for years; the recent debate is simply bringing it to the surface.”), announced a study group composed of planning department staff and the Agricultural Resources Committee with the goal to find consensus among voters and those who’d like to run marijuana grow operations;
• Steve Albee said that current land use regulations are adequate and that opposition to cannabis farming is “NIMBy-ism;” he said that cannabis is an agricultural product, and that the county had ; “fuzzy definitions of agricultural land uses;”
• Sean Scott spoke of needing tight regulations for a new industry at the state and local levels. He said he’d voted for I-502, but that what he’s seen, “with fan running day and night since August, …is not the I-502 I voted for.”
  Councilman Hughes asked, “If  the impacts were reduced,  would it be okay with you?” Scott answered, “If they were reduced to zero, yes;”
• Paul Kamin, who has served on the county water resources committee, noted that  the water used in the Sungrown grow operation was more than that used by four homes, or by Lopez Village;  that such use is considered industrial under Washington water resource law, and not irrigation; Kamin urged the county to be cautious going forward;
• James Wolf, employed by Token Herb, Orcas Island (and San Juan County’s ) only recreational retailer said that the Washington State Liquor Control Board has imposed “excessive regulations”  and advised again anticipating the possible need for future regulation;
• David Jenks  said of the Sungrown operation, with the degree of impact through use and consumption of fans and light, water and power, “The impacts are real, it is not NIMBY-ism;”
• Gary Bauder of Orcas said he lives next door to an agricultural grow facility with distracting sounds, and overpowering smell, and asked council to consider a moratorium against cattle ranches; in a more serious vein he said it was “hypocritical to stand in the way and obstruct a new economy;”
• Georginia Cook of Lopez , asked for clarity in “forging new territory.”
• A tearful San Juan Sungrown employee who has lost her job, said that now she will have to leave the county and go back to Thailand.
• Bill Cooper, also a former Sungrown employee said that as a restaurant worker, this was the “first time I’ve  been employed in November;”
• Tawm Perkowski, a neighbor of the Sungrown operations, said,  “I well up with civic pride when I see Greenhouses.”
• Tim Clark of Lopez said that cannabis-growing is “the biggest thing I’ve seen to come along in agriculture since fruit trees in the 30s. It’s a long term process, don’t slam door on it.” He explained that the non-agricultural definition by the state only applies to tax regulations;
• Nick Jones of Lopez Island criticized the county government for “banning the production of a legal crop on private property” and said it was not an efficient use of county resources. “Slow means no” he said, and implored the council to assure that “regulations be as light, reasonable and flexible as possible;
• Sandy Richard protested that if a moratorium is imposed it may mean that she can’t grow tomatoes in a greenhouse on 25 acres of agricultural land. “We want to preserve farming,”
• Don Gonzales, a tunneling expert cautioned that the demands on water supply of large –scale agriculture may be irreversible.

After nearly 90 minutes of public comment, Jarman explained that the moratorium process involved three “touches” before the county council as well as public hearings. He suggested that the Council should review past actions regarding agriculture, marijuana and greenhouses and “devise a plan to move forward.” He then asked if the group wanted to address the issue of whether marijuana was an agricultural product or the :greenhouse issue.

Hughes noted that currently, greenhouses are unregulated. Stephens said “A moratorium .on something that is unregulated is nothing.” Hughes agreed, saying that he did not support “a moratorium on greenhouses nor on anything connected with State Initiative 502.”

Stephens said that the council had not been advised as to the impacts or permitting issues involved with marijuana production, and Jarman said, “My concern is marijuana, not greenhouses; I’m in no rush for a moratorium.”

The Council then agreed to abandon the moratorium process.

They compared the greenhouse regulations of other counties, particularly when the greenhouses operate in industrial areas, and then the discussion because whether marijuana farming is an industrial or agricultural use. Stephens said that marijuana as an agricultural use is not compatible with current regulations of agricultural uses.

Hughes bargained that if the county would state that it considers marijuana an agricultural product, then he would support considering land-use regulations specific to marijuana.

The Council directed County Manager Mike Thomas to research the process for incorporating regulations into the code for marijuana production, and Hughes cautioned, “There is so much time and effort invested in this issue, the regulations need to be bulletproof. “

Thomas said he would direct his staff to report on what other counties have done regarding the agricultural or industrial regulations regarding marijuana farming.

Stephens returned to the greenhouse issue saying the structure need to be addressed no matter what the product is, and asked that the staff report include information about power, light, water, and noise impacts.

The second public meetings for comment regarding the merits of possible regulation of state approved marijuana businesses in San Juan County will take place on Monday, Jan. 26 at 9:15 a.m. in Council Chambers in Friday Harbor.