Scott Swanson
Following a special meeting on the issue Tuesday, April 15, City Council members appeared poised to enact a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in place within the city limits, likely on Tuesday, April 22.
That was the upshot of a April 15 special public meeting, in which a majority of the council voiced support for a one-year moratorium to allow them time to, as Councilor Marybeth Angulo put it, “figure out what we want to do.”
The council’s attention to the issue is a result of Senate Bill 1531, passed in March by the Oregon Legislature, which restricts local governments’ regulation of medical marijuana facilities to only time, place and manner restrictions.
City Manager Craig Martin cautioned the council that the law is quite restrictive on how much control the city can impose on such enterprises, noting that marijuana dispensaries can be located in commercial/industrial or agricultural zones, as long as they are not within 1,000 feet of a school.
Martin also told the council that Albany has added a 300-foot buffer in its zoning, which it is allowed to do.
Resident Paige Peterson, the only member of the public to speak of the six who were present at the hearing, said she had concerns about where a dispensary would be placed. She said she was concerned about how much scrutiny such a business would receive.
“If it’s not going to be monitored by law enforcement, I don’t think it should be here.”
Councilman Dave Trask said he is bothered by the state’s dictating that the city must allow such businesses as long as they meet criteria in the law.
“My problem with this is they are ramming something down our throat that we don’t want,” he said, adding that he can’t see why medicinal marijuana couldn’t be sold “at Safeway. They sell drugs there all the time. The only difference here is that this is against the law.”
Councilman Craig Fentiman pointed out that dispensaries are required by the new law to keep records and have alarms and cameras.
He said he did not oppose the moratorium, but he said he didn’t want to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude, which, he said, often happens with moratoriums.
“Let’s go ahead and use this moratorium and get creative with some of these things.”
The new state law requires that the council enact the moratorium ordinance by May 1, and the moratorium can only extend to May 1, 2015.
Councilman Dave Trask said he’d like to establish a one-year moratorium “and then revisit it in three months.”
Councilman Bruce Hobbs wondered where a dispensary could be located, given the existing restrictions in the state law.
“Most of Sweet Home is clearly eliminated because of schools and such,” he said.
Fentiman responded that that was exactly why the council needs “two or three months” – to figure those things out.
“Councilwoman Marybeth Angulo suggested that two or three months would be inadequate.
“We need three to six,” she said. “We need time to figure this out.”
A final reading is scheduled to take place Tuesday evening, April 22, unless the issue is carried over to a special meeting.