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BUSINESS | Bellevue skyline rates still among nation’s highest [6]
SPORTS | Newport baseball restoring tradition ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | ‘Spring Awakening,’ from Youth Theatre under new head coach [12] Northwest’s Teen Conservatory [8] FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2014
Bellevue considering banning recreational pot shops Attorney General’s opinion gives city council options BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
Now that the Washington attorney general has put the option on the table, Bellevue councilmembers are consider-
ing whether to ban recreational marijuana businesses ahead of state-issued licenses. The matter came up Monday when the council met to expand an emergency ordinance regulating zoning for selling, processing and producing marijuana in Bellevue for another six months past the April 21 expiration date. Councilmembers expressed concern with the lack of public input on the process for the ordinance so far, despite 59
percent of voters approving Initiative 502 in 2012. One resident spoke during Monday’s public hearing for the extension, and his opinion was that the city should not let pot businesses into Bellevue. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued an opinion in January that state municipalities have the choice of banning recreational marijuana businesses within their local jurisdictions. This opin-
ion will not prevent the potential for legal action against cities that are doing so now or in the future. Councilmember Conrad Lee said he is troubled by the tolerant attitude the city has taken with its acceptance of recreational marijuana. Deputy Mayor Kevin Wallace said when the city was first dealing with the issue, a ban wasn’t considered an option. SEE POT SHOPS, 16
Bellevue uncertain about continuing traffic cameras Are they for safety – or revenue? BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
Workers prepare the roof at the new Bellevue Youth Theatre that eventually will be covered with layers of dirt, gravel and then sod. BRANDON MACZ, Bellevue Reporter
Youth theater a challenge for contractors Circular design, hillside calls for lots of figuring BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
A flag waves atop the Bellevue Youth Theatre under construction near the Crossroads Community Cen-
ter. It's tradition to put something at the high point of a project, said Steve Kathman, project superintendent for Pease Construction — much like a climber on a summit. And in his 29 years in the business, Kathman says the 12,000-square-foot theater is his most challenging venture yet. Building segments of a circular design for the theater, being built into
the side of a hill, there are multiple radiuses and angles to consider. "Then you have flat walls in between," said Kathman. "It's a lot of intricate math." The $8.8-million theater construction project started last May and is funded by a $2 million match from
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Bellevue city councilmembers want to take a closer look at the use of red light and school speed zone cameras before they consider extending a contract with American Traffic Solutions, or possibly shuttering the program entirely. Traffic enforcement cameras were authorized by the City Council in 2009, with two school speed zone cameras at Stevenson and Lake Hills elementary schools and red light cameras at the north- and southbound intersections of 148th Avenue Northeast and Bel-Red Road and southbound 148th Avenue Northeast and Main Street. In the four full years of operations for the photo enforcement program through an agreement with American Traffic Solutions the city reports a total decrease in infractions at targeted locations of 48 percent. However, some areas saw a spike. The city reports $1.2 million in revenue were collected by King County District Court in 2013, 65 percent of which is kept by the court pending reconciliation of its service contract with the city. Over the past several years, the city reports revenues have exceeded expenses. The fine per infraction is $124. Southbound 148th and Main infractions increased by 19 percent since the program's start, which the city reports may be attributed to redevelopment of the Kelsey Creek Shopping Center, where more drivers were making SEE CAMERAS, 16