Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Washington state's voters approved Initiative 502 in 2012 with the understanding - for those who read the fine print - that no marijuana operation could be set up within 1,000 feet of designated gathering places that cater to minors. A change in state law later allowed local governments to reduce the buffer zone to 100 feet with some exceptions, thus setting up the Yakima city government's recent debate on the matter.
Last week, the council chose wisely in sticking with the 1,000-foot buffer.
The city is new to marijuana regulation, which came about after the current City Council overturned the previous council's ban on pot operations; three of the four new council members voted in favor of the new policy. The state law's language on buffer zones is designed to keep marijuana operations away from places like schools, playgrounds, recreation centers, child care centers, public parks, public transit centers, libraries and game arcades.
In approving the 1,000-foot zone last week, the council went along with a recommendation by the city's Planning Commission, which itself chose the larger buffer over those of 100 to 500 feet. The decision adds churches and playground equipment at scattered sites along the Yakima Greenway. A 1,500-foot buffer proposed by Councilman Bill Lover was rejected on the grounds that it would have effectively eliminated any place for operations to set up shop.
In addition, the city's move limits production and processing of marijuana to areas zoned light industrial and heavy industrial. It allows retail sale of recreational marijuana only in areas zoned for business and commercial uses.
The buffer effectively restricts the stores to a few of the city's major arterials; one marijuana processing business has been approved on Tieton Drive in west Yakima, and more than a dozen business applications in Yakima are pending with the state.
Mayor Avina Gutierrez, Dulce Gutierrez Holly Cousens and Kathy Coffey voted to approve marijuana operations, with Lover, Maureen Adkison and Carmen Mendez opposed. The proponents offered a range a reasons from the compassionate to the fiscal; Coffey has lost two husbands to cancer and notes that pot can be used to alleviate a patient's symptoms, while Dulce Gutierrez cites revenue potential and the politics - her district's voters bucked the citywide trend and voted for I-502.
We remain skeptical about allowing pot businesses at all, but the 1,000-foot buffer is a prudent compromise. It enables marijuana businesses in accordance with state law - and the decision allows the council in the future to reduce the buffer if evidence deems such a move would not undermine the intended purpose of separating marijuana and minors. A careful move is the best move at this time, in this community, on this issue.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Yakima Takes Prudent Step On Marijuana Buffer
Author: Editorial Board
Contact: 1-509-248-1251
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Website: Yakima Herald
Last week, the council chose wisely in sticking with the 1,000-foot buffer.
The city is new to marijuana regulation, which came about after the current City Council overturned the previous council's ban on pot operations; three of the four new council members voted in favor of the new policy. The state law's language on buffer zones is designed to keep marijuana operations away from places like schools, playgrounds, recreation centers, child care centers, public parks, public transit centers, libraries and game arcades.
In approving the 1,000-foot zone last week, the council went along with a recommendation by the city's Planning Commission, which itself chose the larger buffer over those of 100 to 500 feet. The decision adds churches and playground equipment at scattered sites along the Yakima Greenway. A 1,500-foot buffer proposed by Councilman Bill Lover was rejected on the grounds that it would have effectively eliminated any place for operations to set up shop.
In addition, the city's move limits production and processing of marijuana to areas zoned light industrial and heavy industrial. It allows retail sale of recreational marijuana only in areas zoned for business and commercial uses.
The buffer effectively restricts the stores to a few of the city's major arterials; one marijuana processing business has been approved on Tieton Drive in west Yakima, and more than a dozen business applications in Yakima are pending with the state.
Mayor Avina Gutierrez, Dulce Gutierrez Holly Cousens and Kathy Coffey voted to approve marijuana operations, with Lover, Maureen Adkison and Carmen Mendez opposed. The proponents offered a range a reasons from the compassionate to the fiscal; Coffey has lost two husbands to cancer and notes that pot can be used to alleviate a patient's symptoms, while Dulce Gutierrez cites revenue potential and the politics - her district's voters bucked the citywide trend and voted for I-502.
We remain skeptical about allowing pot businesses at all, but the 1,000-foot buffer is a prudent compromise. It enables marijuana businesses in accordance with state law - and the decision allows the council in the future to reduce the buffer if evidence deems such a move would not undermine the intended purpose of separating marijuana and minors. A careful move is the best move at this time, in this community, on this issue.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Yakima Takes Prudent Step On Marijuana Buffer
Author: Editorial Board
Contact: 1-509-248-1251
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Website: Yakima Herald
