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US: Assembly to vote on zoning restrictions for cannabis cafes Amanda Bohman News Miner Thursday 22 Sep 2016 The Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Commission and the Department of Community Planning have rejected the idea of additional restrictions for on-site consumption becasue it puts more controls on the marijuana industry than are in place for alcohol establishments. But assembly members Diane Hutchison and Guy Sattley said on-site consumption raises “different public health, safety and welfare considerations than a retail marijuana store.” The assembly also will reconsider establishing a boroughwide pot cafe moratorium at its meeting tonight. A borough moratorium is currently in place through mid-November as the Alaska Marijuana Control Board continues reviewing regulations for pot cafes, but it only applies outside of the cities. The assembly rejected the boroughwide moratorium at its last meeting. The next day, Assemblyman Matt Cooper asked for the reconsideration. He wants to make sure the assembly has a chance to examine zoning for pot cafes before regulations for on-site consumption are approved by the Marijuana Control Board. Under Ordinance 2016-46, which will have its second public hearing tonight, marijuana stores in general commercial, industrial and general use zones offering on-site consumption would be required to undergo a public review process. Neighbors would be notified and invited to testify at a hearing before the Planning Commission. Currently, stores are allowed outright in those zones, for the most part, with no public notifications or hearing. The ordinance distinguishes between marijuana stores offering on-site consumption and stores without it. “What I think this would accomplish is notifying the neighbors,” Hutchison said. “This is communication. We want to try to get the communication out.” Some of the zoning rules in place for the marijuana industry in the borough have been criticized as too industry-friendly, Hutchison said. In Anchorage and Juneau, a public hearing is required before any marijuana business can open. Some residents have complained to the Borough Assembly and Planning Commission about marijuana businesses opening quietly in their neighborhoods. “We’ve heard from people that they wish they would have been notified,” Hutchison said. The Planning Commission discussed the ordinance on Sept. 7 and voted 5-3 recommending the assembly reject it. Criticism centered around a comparison with alcohol establishments. General commercial, industrial and general use zones allow bars and nightclubs outright with no requirement for neighborhood notification and a pubic hearing. Borough Planning Director Christine Nelson also recommended denial of the measure. She told the commission the concerns being raised about on-site consumption are better dealt with from a public safety standpoint than from a land use standpoint. “The only added neighborhood impact of an on-site consumption area,” Nelson wrote in a memo to the Planning Commission, “different than that of a marijuana retail store, is the number of parking spaces that may be necessary to adequately handle the demand if some customers stay longer to consume on-site in addition to those customers that purchase and leave the site.” The commission also sponsored an ordinance recommending tighter zoning restrictions for marijuana cultivation in some zones. The assembly will review that measure in October. http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/assembly-to-vote-on-zoning-restrictions-for-cannabis-cafes/article_13e18404-809c-11e6-b264-6b4a7df233dd.html
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