PASCO, Wash. — Pasco residents will have to wait for the next Pasco City Council meeting to hear more on the council’s consideration to update cannabis retail restrictions — and it’s possible there won’t be a decision for months.
The council will decide whether or not to hold an advisory vote on the issue at the March 20 regular meeting. Advisory votes are included on ballots but are different from measures; advisory votes don’t cause any definitive action. They’re primarily used for lawmakers to survey how constituents feel on an issue. The council made this decision after further discussion left no consensus at the regular meeting on March 6.
The conversation has been in front of the council since summer 2022, when a former Pasco resident and current dispensary owner encouraged the city council to reconsider current codes. David Morgan opened Lucky Leaf in 2016 after moving to Spokane. He applied for his marijuana license in 2013, originally intending to open a dispensary in Pasco. But the next year, Pasco banned marijuana sales in the city.
The Pasco City Council asked for community comment and may have gotten more than they bargained for; with spirited discussion from both sides remaining consistent over the months. The council weighed numerous different approaches to the issue, even bringing some of them to the public for consideration.
It seemed like progress was being made on January 17, when the council agreed on small zoning decisions relating to the updates. Two motions were considered: one involving both commercial and industrial areas that failed 3-4, followed by one involving only industrial areas that passed 4-3. However, Mayor Blanche Barajas later rescinded her vote, bringing the commercial and industrial zoning decisions back to the council.
This was brought up during public comment at the council’s most recent meeting on March 6, but councilmembers said the vote was only rescinded in order to allow further consideration. The council will still make a decision, pending the results of the March 20 motions.
It was following the public comment on March 6 that an advisory vote was brought up, in order to let the people decide. But some councilmembers opposed this idea, as it would delay decisions for several more months.
Mayor Pro Tem Craig Maloney suggested a plan forward in order to move to the next agenda item. He said they could vote at the next meeting, March 20, whether or not to conduct an advisory vote. If passed, discussion would end. If failed, the council would vote to draft a new ordinance regarding the issue, with updated zoning and conditional use permit requirements. The council agreed with this plan.
“This is a clear communication to both each other and the community as to what decisions we need to make,” said Councilmember Maloney. “Obviously we’re not prepared to make those decisions and votes tonight.”
