Marijuana zoning hashed out
The Whitefish City-County Planning Board continued to work on zoning for medical marijuana businesses in Whitefish at their Feb. 18 meeting.
Nine people addressed the board, including three members of the medical marijuana industry and four former or current city councilors.
Councilor Turner Askew said the councilors in the room had not seen the draft ordinance until that morning, and he warned that "more than half the council" did not agree with it.
While Askew and councilor Phil Mitchell provided some alternative language, and councilor Chris Hyatt advised the board to "do it right," Whitefish resident Diane Smith and former city councilor Doug Adams said they wanted the city to totally ban the medical marijuana business.
Adams said the "hastily written" state law allowing medical marijuana was "a real disaster" and he didn't want Whitefish to be in the forefront. Patients who consume pot at dispensaries "are just going there to get high," and he suggested caregivers are "drug dealers' who are pushing the issue forward.
Since federal law still prohibits marijuana sales and use, Adams said, the city could totally ban the medical marijuana business, as Kalispell city attorney Charles Harball told his city council last week.
City planning director David Taylor said he spoke with The Healing Center's Mike Smith the following day, and Smith said he intends to sue the city if there is a total ban on medical marijuana clinics. Smith also confirmed his company will set up a clinic just outside the city's two-mile planning and zoning "doughnut" in the next few weeks.
Whitefish police chief Bill Dial said he recognized a legitimate use for medical marijuana, but he "had issues' with the draft ordinance related to safety, security and enforcement. He said he had talked with law enforcement officials in Columbia Falls, Kalispell and the sheriff's office and strongly suggested the board take its time.
Board member Dennis Konopatzke also criticized the "poorly drafted" state law and said he completely opposed the zoning approach. With all the safety and security concerns, the medical marijuana industry should be regulated by licensing, he said.
Taylor said the city council directed him to come up with a draft so the planning board could begin work on the zoning issue.
"If we don't put zoning in place, when the moratorium expires it will be a free-for-all," he said.
Board member Karen Reeves noted that 68 percent of Whitefish voters approved the Montana Medical Marijuana Act, and other board members agreed to work on the draft ordinance.
After reviewing it item by item, the board's consensus was to limit dispensaries to the WB-2 and WB-4 zoning districts — the U.S. 93 strip and Baker Commons, next to The Wave. Both districts are inside the city limits, which means dispensaries there could be subject to licensing.
They also agreed to reduce the buffer around schools, libraries, parks, daycares and churches to 200 feet so dispensaries could be located near professional offices in the two zoning districts.
All dispensaries would need conditional-use permits, meaning they would be individually reviewed by the planning board and the council, and neighbors within 150 feet would be notified.
A good portion of the draft was removed because board members believed those requirements were not zoning issues. Instead, the board will recommend that the council draft licensing regulations that will cover things like on-site marijuana consumption, safety, security, record keeping, customer ages and paraphernalia sales.
The board also agreed to prohibit images of marijuana buds, leaves, joints and paraphernalia on signs visible from public sidewalks or rights-of-way. Smith had asked that trademarked logos — such as The Healing Center's, which shows a marijuana leaf — be exempted, but the board disagreed.
For caregivers who operate out of their homes, the board agreed to limit the number of patients to five. Marijuana growing operations would be allowed in six of the city's rural or agricultural zoning districts as well as the industrial zone and the new business service district at Highway 40 and Dillon Road.
These recommendations are tentative and a first stab at establishing zoning for the new industry. The work will continue at the planning board's March 18 meeting with a public hearing. A draft will likely be sent on to the council at that point.
The board agreed there was no hurry, and several members said they wanted to talk to officials in Kalispell and Columbia Falls. They also requested an opinion from Whitefish city attorney John Phelps on whether the city could completely ban marijuana businesses.