PORT TOWNSEND — After declining to act Monday on a proposed four-month extension of a moratorium on marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas, the Jefferson County commissioners have decided to address the topic again next Monday.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St., in anticipation of the larger crowds that have attended previous meetings about the topic.
Discussion and possible action on the moratorium are expected after the public comment period, said County Administrator Philip Morley on Thursday.
Prior to the last meeting, Commissioner David Sullivan expressed a desire to let the moratorium expire.
During the meeting, Commissioner Kathleen Kler made a motion for its extension, which died for lack of a second.
The third commissioner, Phil Johnson, had not made up his mind, which led to the default action for the moratorium to expire this coming Wednesday.
Johnson did not return a call requesting comment Thursday.
In August, commissioners imposed a six-month moratorium on marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas to provide time to develop guidelines.
In January, the county Department of Community Development requested another four months to complete that task, which would extend the moratorium to June 11 and allow more study of the rules in cooperation with the Planning Commission.
The commissioners had two options for a moratorium extension: to extend the measure as it is or to amend it to exempt businesses on parcels larger than 5 acres.
At the end of Monday’s meeting, the commissioners had exercised a third option: to take no action, thus allowing the moratorium to passively expire.
Carl Smith, DCD director, said then that about 25 local growers who had applied for producing and processing permits were affected by the moratorium.
If it expires, the department will begin processing those applications, he said.
If the moratorium is extended, the Planning Commission would discuss guidelines and make recommendations to the county commissioners, something members said they were not able to accomplish during the allotted time.
At its Jan. 14 meeting, the Planning Commission assigned its member Tom Giske to write a report about the issue.
He gave that report at the planning board’s Wednesday night meeting.
Giske’s report said regulations should protect residential areas from excessive traffic, noise and light; ensure that large-scale production and processing operations do not introduce traffic or other hazards to a residential community; and seek to minimize negative financial impact to landowners and neighbors.
Impacts outside of the board’s purview were safety, effect on children, fear of crime and environmental harm because these topics are addressed by other agencies, Giske said.
He moved that the commission pass a resolution encouraging the county commissioners to extend the moratorium to give the Planning Commission a chance to make a recommendation.
The motion was not seconded after board member Matt Sircely said such a resolution was outside of the board’s purview; its mission is to make code recommendations and discuss land-use issues.
The county initially treated marijuana as standard agriculture, a distinction that led to public protests and the eventual implementation of the moratorium.
At Smith’s suggestion, planning commissioners took a “straw poll” as to whether marijuana was standard agriculture.
All commissioners except one, Gary Felder, said marijuana should be treated differently.
“We need to get our head out of the sand here and deal with this intelligently,” Felder said.
“We deal with tobacco and alcohol on a daily basis, and they are a whole lot worse than marijuana.”
License applicant Jim McRae of Quilcene told commissioners during the public comment period: “If you open the door for regulating a specific crop, you open the door for crop-specific regulation in the future, and that is not a world where I as an existing farmer want to live in.”
McRae said concerns about light and noise are addressed by existing statutes, and one possible restriction on hours of operation could decrease traffic and impact on the neighbors.
Sharon Hall of Chimacum said marijuana operations threaten local rural life.
“Many people came here just to have a quiet life,” she said.
“I’m really scared about the type of life we are about to enter if the moratorium is lifted.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.