Bellevue Reporter, May 16, 2014

Page 1

BELLEVUE

REPORTER

NEWSLINE 425-453-4270

POLICE | FBI teams with Bellevue Police, Fire Department in training exercise at Crossroads [2]

Business | New, high-tech leasing SPORTS | Bellevue comes up one run shy in KingCo tournament double-header on diamond center unveiled for expansion of Bellevue Collection [4] FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014 [15]

Council spars over wisdom of letting pot shops into city Wallace fails to gain support for rec marijuana moratorium BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER

Councilmember Kevin Wallace said prior to the defeat of emergency legislation he proposed Monday night to temporarily ban recreational marijuana businesses in Bellevue that there will come a time when

the city regrets letting marijuana in. Wallace provided two emergency ordinances ahead of a public hearing to amend and extend an emergency ordinance regulating marijuana retail, processing and producing in Bellevue. One was for a six-month moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses to allow the city's planning commission to complete final recommendations for how to regulate the new industry, and the other would do the same for collective medical marijuana gardens. Monday's public hearing was simply to

HEADING OFF THE STORM

amend an emergency ordinance the city has been under since October to prohibit retail marijuana stores from opening up too close to each other. The ordinance now sets a 1,000-foot distance requirement between stores. Wallace argued a moratorium on recreational marijuana would allow the planning commission more time to recommend a better ordinance for regulating retail, production and processing in the city. He added the Bellevue Police Department has also not yet weighed in on the issue.

SEE POT, 18

Bellevue residents want city more involved in PSE project BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER

Dr. Derek Rodrigues prepares a patient for an atrial fibrillation ablation procedure at Overlake Hospital Medical Center. The operation creates lesions inside that block the path of “an electrical storm” of signals from the pulmonary vein, Rodrigues said. Read more on PAGE 13. DANIEL NASH, Bellevue Reporter

Councilmember Conrad Lee was the only other vote in favor of the bans, and the emergency ordinances required a five-vote supermajority to pass. The council received only one comment during its public hearing on the distance requirement, and that was from a couple advocating for an outright ban. City Attorney Lori Riordan told the council the Washington State Liquor Con-

While more than 200 Bellevue residents came out to Monday night's City Council meeting to oppose Puget Sound Energy's two proposed routes for its 18-mile, Redmond-to-Renton transmission line project, Mayor Claudia Balducci limited testimony to three speakers for either side of the debate. No one emerged in support. The three speakers were representing the newly formed Coalition of Eastside Neighborhoods for Sensible Energy, which resident Jeff DuBois said encapsulates the thoughts of thousands of Bellevue residents. DuBois requested the council consider the integrity of the city's parks and neighborhoods and take steps to find an alternative that works for all parties and excludes erecting transmission line towers up to 12 stories in height. PSE is using this year to solicit public comments and work with a community advisory group to determine which of the two routes is preferred for its transmission line project, which is proposed to handle future capacity needs on the Eastside. Residents on the Eastside, including some within PSE's community advisory group, do not believe the added infrastructure will be solely for their benefit nor do they want to see large towers erected in their neighbor-

hoods or clear cutting of trees for the route. Seventy-four Eastside residents have sued the energy company to try to prevent it from using a route that would run over the old Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks in the Eastside Rail Corridor. "And it's only going to get worse," said John Merrill, who lives in Bellevue's Somerset neighborhood. Merrill said PSE may oppose undergrounding its transmission lines, but there are still other viable options that the energy company excluded from consideration before approaching the public with its Energize Eastside project. He said the city should use its resources to find a solution to the routing issue and take steps to preserve neighborhoods. "These routes cut through the heart of the community," said Richard Kaner, a Bellevue geriatric doctor. Kaner said residents acknowledge the need for an infrastructure upgrade for providing a higher energy capacity on the Eastside, but that the city of Bellevue should use its power to govern land use and prevent "industrial blight" in its neighborhoods. Councilmember John Chelminiak said PSE representatives will meet with the council next week for a status update for the project. SEE PSE, 18

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