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VOLUME 38, NUMBER 3 • JANUARY 20, 2015
SJC continues to examine local marijuana production regulations By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
While the looming specter of a moratorium may have vanished, the tug-of-war over marijuana production and whether impacts of the newly created industry warrant a new regimen of local land-use rules remains anything but resolved. In a 3-0 decision, the San Juan County Council voted without dissent Jan. 12 to disengage from its pursuit of a would-be moratorium that by design targeted the processing of permits for marijuana-related production facilities. By default, however, that same moratorium may have also applied to the construction of any type of greenhouse, regardless of whatever crop it was intended to house, from tomatoes to basil, to bok choy. Enforcement would have proved problematic, said Councilman Jamie Stephens, District 3, noting that construction of a so-called “temporary” greenhouse does not require a permit under existing regulations. “A moratorium on something that doesn’t have any regulations means nothing,” said Stephens, who, six months ago, joined fellow councilman Bob Jarman, District 1, in moving discussion of a moratorium into the drafting of a possible ordinance. The vote followed nearly 90 minutes of public testimony from a crowd that the council hearing room proved to small by itself to contain. Support for agricultural, in general, and
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for marijuana production in particular, was abundant from the 30-or-so people who testified, as was the call for tighter restrictions on a laundry list of impacts from fledgling industry. Those industries unable to find a seat or room to stand watched a video-feed and listened in from an adjacent conference room on proceedings of the first of two council-led workshops focused on the regulatory ins-and-outs, ups and downs, and the nuances, hurdles and economic promise of local marijuana production. The second workshop is slated for Jan. 26. In initiating the vote to strike down the greenhouse moratorium, Councilman Rick Hughes, District-2, outspoken and steadfast in opposition to the would-be legislation, included that the council also forgo pursuit of any moratorium regarding voter-approved state Initiative 502, which legalized the cultivation, production, sale and recreational use of marijuana by adults. That proviso passed as well. The state Liquor Control Board, the agency tasked with implementation and regulation of I-502, has so far issued a total of 16 licenses to marijuana grow operations in San Juan County, according to county Agricultural Resources Committee Coordinator Peggy Bill. That total consists of four Tier 1 facilities (less than 2,000 square feet), nine Tier 2 (maximum 7,000 square feet) and three Tier 3 (maximum 21,000 square feet) and together cover
roughly four acres of landscape. That total, Bill added, does not account for the recent shutdown of a Tier 3 facility on San Juan Island, San Juan Sungrown, which eliminates one Tier 3 facility and about one acre off the landscape. The facilities come in an assortment of shapes, sizes and structures, and the amount of resources required by each are presumably unique, she said. Jarman said that his intent, all along, has been to craft a set of “reasonable rules” that address impacts of marijuana production, but not at the expense of other crops cultivated in a greenhouse. He said such impacts, like noise, odor, illumination, water and power usage, and size or scale of an operation, could be addressed more effectively if marijuana was treated differently than other agricultural products and that permits for its production facilities had a separate pathway for approval, such as requirement of a conditionaluse permit. “When we put greenhouses into the moratorium language I think it confused a lot of people and it just went down the wrong rabbit hole,” Jarman said. “My intent all along was to try and look at the marijuana issue.” Though the moratorium is off the table, the potential of a new regulatory regime for marijuana grow operations is not. The council is expected to receive updated information from county planning staff and agricultural resources committee at the Jan. 26 workshop.
Republicans want separate education budget By Alice Day
WNPA Olympia News Bureau
As the Washington State Legislature begins its 2015 session the hottest issue is expected to be how to fund our K-12 education system. In its 2012 McCleary decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Washington state was not amply funding basic education under the state constitution, and that it had to do so or face court sanctions. With a Democratic governor, a reduced Democratic majority in the House and a slight Republican majority in the Senate, political power is balanced in Olympia and all eyes are on education funding. A bill being touted as
“Fund Education First,” would create a separate budget for education—one that does not rely on new tax sources. HB 1001, sponsored by seven Republican representatives, is the latest version of a proposal that has been tossed around Olympia since 2006. “The premise of the bill is to ensure that we do an education budget that is removed from the politics that go with our budget process,” said Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, prime sponsor of the bill. The six other co-sponsors are Rep. Jesse Young, R-Gig Harbor; Rep. Dave Hayes, R-Camano Island; Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama; Rep. Ed Haler, R-Richland; Rep.
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Linda Kochmar, R-Federal Way; Rep. Mark Hargrove, R-Covington and Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver. Washington’s general fund budget is divided into three parts: transportation, operating and capital. By separating education from the operating budget, MacEwen says the K-12 budget would be prioritized in a timely fashion that not only fulfills the McCleary mandate, but also give school districts enough time to make staffing decisions. “They can’t plan for the upcoming year until we have finished our budget and signed it into law,” MacEwen said. “Sometimes it leaves them with 45 to 60 days to implement and I just think that’s a very unfortunate scenario to put our school districts in.” It’s uncertain how this proposal will fare against Gov. Jay Inslee’s tax package, which is a key component of his funding proposal for K-12 education. However, Republicans say that overall budget reform is necessary to see results. “If the Legislature decides it needs to create revenue
by raising taxes, it can do that, it just can’t hold up the process of the K-12 budget by debating the merits of a tax change,” MacEwen said. At a press conference in Olympia on Jan. 8, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Andy Hill, R-Redmond, said the most recent revenue forecast indicates that Washington has an additional $5 billion that could be spent on K-12 education. David Schumacher, director of the state Office of Financial Management and Inslee’s budget director, says the $5 billion increase in the proposed budget is necessary. The increase from $34.4 billion to $39.4 billion is needed to compensate for what he describes as the overall structural budget problem that Washington faces and does not provide enough for education funding. Schumacher said almost $3 billion of the $5 billion in projected revenue is covered by growth in the budget. In other words, it will cost almost $3 billion to pay for everything in the underSEE BUDGET, PAGE 8