SEQUIM — The city of Sequim has lifted its 18-month ban on recreational marijuana retail businesses, a move that a jubilant entrepreneur said would mean his shop could open within three months.
In a 5-1 vote Monday, the council decided to implement permanent zoning rules with amendments addressing changes in state law relating to medical marijuana.
The City Council had adopted a moratorium Feb. 24, 2014 that prevented retail stores from opening, and had approved six-month extensions on Aug. 11, 2014 and again on Feb. 9 this year.
The ban would have expired on Aug. 9.
All council members present except Erik Erichsen — Laura DuBois was absent — voted in favor of lifting the ban. Erichsen made no comment about his reason for voting against the measure.
“I think we should honor the commitment we made when we started down the road of a moratorium,” Councilman Ken Hays said.
“All the conditions have been met,” he said.
“I think it is only fair to allow what the majority of voters have approved in the state and in the city of Sequim.”
Voters in November 2012 approved Initiative 502, which legalized the sale and use of recreational marijuana by adults.
The moratorium was enacted so city staff could study and prepare solutions for dealing with the implications of legal marijuana.
“Originally, it was to deal with funding issues, as well as medical marijuana issues, as well as clinic issues,” said Craig Rithcie, city attorney.
“Some things got changed, but some did not. Medical marijuana did not. And then recently, the Legislature did fix that.
“They still have some other problem areas, but that is one they fixed, so my recommendation was that it was time to either ban marijuana or allow what I reccomended, which was to allow retail and medically license stores, and that is what they did.”
The move allows stores licensed by the state Liquor and Cannabis Board to begin operation within city limits, but does not allow marijuana growing operations or manufacturing of marijuana products within city limits.
Councilman Ted Miller said that the city should look into the possibility of allowing the manufacture of marijuana products, such as edibles, in the future.
“If we are going to allow the retail sale of marijuana, why can’t we allow the processing of marijuana [in] the industrial area?” he asked.
The vote was greeted by excitement by David Halpern, 62, of Sequim, owner of Emanon Systems Inc.
“I am ecstatic,” he said. “As a businessman, an entrepreneur, I relish the opportunity to be part of this new industry and this wave of social change.”
His company has been in the process of opening a marijuana retail store at 755 W. Washington St., Suite C, in Sequim for the past year.
Halpern expects the store, Nature’s Gifts, should be up and running in about the next three months, he said Monday.
“This is only the beginning of financial benefit for the city of Sequim,” Halpern told the City Council.
“Our business will grow, and while [the city] is not getting a lot from the state from the excise taxes, you will be getting money from the sales tax we generate,” he said.
Matthew Clark, 43, of Port Angeles, General Manager of Nature’s Gifts, is pleased the retail shop can open.
He noted that the business will employ about seven full-time employees who will be given wages spanning from $12 to $15 an hour, with benefits.
Halpern’s company was the first application drawn from a lottery in April 2014 for a license to operate the one retail outlet allotted to Sequim.
His business was one of 34 applicants for the North Olympic Peninsula’s 10 retail stores that had passed through initial rounds of state screening.
The company underwent more background checking and submitted business plans reviewed by the state before getting an official license to open.
With his license later secured, “I thought we would be open in nothing flat,” Halpern said.
But even with a license in hand, Halpern couldn’t open his store due to the moratorium.
Taking a gamble, he proceeded in July 2014 to sign a one-year lease for the office space at 755 W. Washington St., Suite C.
The suite, formerly occupied by an Edward Jones financial services company office, has sat vacant ever since.
“I am 100 percent committed to this project,” Halpern said.
“I signed a long lease and I have been paying rent . . . for the past 12 months. I have also been paying insurance utilities [and] many ongoing expenses for the past year.”
Now, the property will undergo renovations in advance of opening to the public.
Thomas Ash, 63, of Sequim, owner of Tropic Grow LLC, is pleased the ban has come to an end.
His company is licensed by the state to grow up to about 2,800 marijuana plants inside his Dungeness barn, and wasn’t effected by the city ban.
However, he will be among the local suppliers providing Nature’s Gifts with marijuana.
“For [Halpern] to go for all it took to apply, to win the lottery, to get the location, to lease it, to pay for it for a year — this [vote] went just the way it should have gone and it took a year for it to happen.”
Halpern said he soon will apply to the state for permission to sell medical marijuana at his retail business.
“Our store will become a single location for both medical and recreational marijuana,” Halpern said.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
