When The Beachcomber first began to report on potential legal marijuana businesses on Vashon, we spoke with Shango Los, an islander attempting to gain traction with his new group, the Vashon Island Marijuana Entrepreneurs Alliance. Los spoke of a vision that Vashon residents might step up to start small marijuana farms, and we editorialized that it was an idea we could support. If marijuana is going to be legally grown in the state, why shouldn’t some Vashon residents take advantage of the new market, something that could also provide a small infusion to our local economy? The pot farms would likely be tucked on back roads like our other small farms and would hopefully be managed by islanders with taste and respect for the community.
As a story on this week’s front page says, at least a few islanders were well positioned to start such operations. However, a significant change in county zoning regulations suddenly put the skids on some of their plans.
In December the King County Council voted that in unincorporated King County, any pot operation over 2,000 square feet should go through the rigorous and expensive process to obtain a conditional use permit (CUP). The law previously required that only large operations, those over 10,000 square feet, be required to obtain a CUP, something the county estimates could cost applicants thousands of dollars and 6 to 8 months to get. Suddenly, something in reach for small start-ups was out of reach for many and the regulations seemed to favor larger operations put forward by investors with greater resources. Applicants could chose to start with a smaller farm, but we’ve learned it would be difficult to break even doing so. Outdoor growers who do go for the CUP will miss out on this growing season, putting them behind others entering the market.
The councilmember who drove this new regulation said it would help ensure that pot permitting in unincorporated King County is cautious and transparent, not allowing businesses to “slip in in the dark of night,” as reported by The Seattle P-I. While we don’t know all of the reasons why the council ultimately passed this measure, we can’t help but feel it isn’t right for Vashon. We expect small operations tucked away on a rural island would have fewer potential consequences and encounter less opposition than those in more populated areas. Why, then, should applicants here be required to go through an extra and expensive step that those in the city do not?
Those with the skills and resources to succeed in this new market will likely find a way to be in business despite the new requirement. But we believe the county should look at the effects of its new regulation in places like Vashon. Legal marijuana business is new territory for everyone, so it makes sense to consider how regulations are actually going to play out. If the rule does prove prohibitive for otherwise solid business plans, the council should rethink how it moves forward. Perhaps a similar but less involved requirement could provide the scrutiny and public transparency created by the CUP, without the time and expense that could inhibit businesses that make sense on the island.
