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Wednesday, September 17, 2014 | 75 cents
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City Council to discuss, vote on SR 410 traffic light
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By Ray Still Staff Writer
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A proposed amendment to the Washington State University Forest development agreement was tabled by the Bonney Lake City Council for discussion and action during the workshop on Sept. 16. The WSU Forest agreement, passed by the City Council in 2009, allows Bonney Lake to develop 40 acres of the forest to attract commercial and medical business. The current agreement would only allow right in, right out access to 204 Avenue East, meaning drivers would not be able to turn left at the intersection. The amendment would connect 204 Avenue East to state Route 410 and South Prairie Road, and would allow a traffic light to be installed at the intersection of SR 410 and 204 Avenue East. Left turn lanes would be installed for drivers heading west, and the median barrier at this intersection would also be removed. There is no plan for a left turn lane to be installed for drivers going east on SR 410 to turn onto 204 Avenue East at this time. Transportation analysts from Washington State University and Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Development Company indi-
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Weather The forecast calls for today, Wednesday, a 30 percent chance of showers after 11 a.m. Otherwise, it’s mostly cloudy with a high temperature near 73 and calm winds. A chance of showers remains through Friday night, with partly sunny skies returning Saturday and Sunday. Look for weekend highs in the mid- to upper 70s.
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Richard Gillette operates his homemade hexicopter, named for the six propellers. The copter sports a small GoPro camera, which allows Gillette to film aerial footage. His headset lets him see what the copter sees, up to a certain range. Photos by Ray Still
SEE TRAFFIC LIGHT, PAGE 9
Commission presents marijuana zoning options By Ray Still Staff Writer
The Bonney Lake Planning Commission presented to the City Council three options for regulating the marijuana industry in Bonney Lake during the Sept. 9 City Council meeting. The council forwarded the discussion of these options to the City Council workshop on Sept. 16.
After the council passed Ordinance 1481 last April – extending the moratorium on producing, processing and the retail sale of marijuana in the city – the council tasked the Planning Commission with developing marijuana business regulations in Bonney Lake. The moratorium expires in October if it is not renewed or extended by the council. “The city attorney is drafting an ordinance right now to
The BEST of the Plateau!
consider extending the ordinance between 75 and 90 days,” said City Administrator Don Morrison. The reason for the extension, Morrison said, is so that the City Council can review these options before making a decision. In a nutshell, the three options that the Planning Commission researched and presented were: • a total ban of all statelicensed marijuana businesses, • allow state-licensed retail stores to operate in the city but ban producers and processors, • or allow the moratorium to expire and rely solely on the state Liquor Control Board busi-
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ness regulations regarding statelicensed marijuana. “Option one and three are pretty cut and dry,” said Grant Sulham, the chair of the Planning Commission. “In the middle, there is a gray area, and these are some things that we can see might work well.” The Planning Commission’s options are not set in stone, and the council can vote on one or neither of the options.
Option One
For the first option, a full ban on state-licensed marijuana businesses in Bonney Lake, the
SEE ZONING, PAGE 7
The Results Are In!