Tuesday symposium on mayor’s land use proposals regarding medical marijuana

by | Nov 16, 2015

The city is hosting a public symposium on Tuesday to discuss Mayor Murray’s new land use proposals regarding medical marijuana reform and implementing the new marijuana regulatory business licenses. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 600 4th Ave., in the Bertha Knight Landis Room.

Last week the mayor proposed new rules to site “state-licensed stores more equitably and fairly throughout Seattle while also limiting the possibility of clustering retail stores on a single city block,” according to a press release.

Under Murray’s proposal, the 1,000-foot restriction from playgrounds and schools would remain in effect while restrictions for all other public amenities would be reduced to 500 feet (approximately 1-2 city blocks). The new rule would establish an additional 1,650 acres for retail locations to be sited in Seattle. To prevent multiple stores from locating on the same block, the proposal creates a new minimum distance between marijuana retail stores of 500 feet.

(The) proposal follows earlier City legislation proposed by Murray and unanimously approved by the City Council that gave the City the authority to create a regulatory path medical marijuana dispensaries to join the state regulated retail market and close unregulated dispensaries or those operating as bad actors. Since that City ordinance was enacted, 59 dispensaries have voluntarily closed due to their being out of compliance and approximately 49 dispensaries have remained open and have an opportunity to obtain a state license early next year.

The State Liquor and Cannabis Board is currently reviewing nearly 200 new applications for retail marijuana licenses in Seattle. Today, 19 retail recreational stores are operating in the city. Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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