Kennewick bans all pot businesses

Pot-related businesses aren't welcome in the city of Kennewick.

The city council unanimously voted Tuesday night to permanently ban all retail, processing and production operations related to marijuana after a public hearing.

The ban replaces a temporary moratorium that's been in place since October 2013 and was scheduled to expire Oct. 15.

People in favor of the ban cited the negative health effects of smoking pot and said allowing businesses could allow children better access to it and disrupt the community.

Pot producers, retailers and other residents told the council it was succumbing to "fear of the unknown," circumventing the will of the state's voters and doing more to promote crime by not allowing legitimate businesses.

Council member John Trumbo said his main issue with the new state law allowing marijuana is that he doesn't think it is good for the city as a whole.

Mayor Steve Young said the law's implementation -- taking tax revenue for state coffers while putting the cost of enforcing it and dealing with its consequences on local governments -- set him against it.

"How many police officers is it going to take to protect these businesses?" Young asked.

The council's decision follows a recent unanimous recommendation from the city's planning commission to ban pot-related businesses. City staff said recent statements from the state attorney general allow local governments to ban them.

Other local governments are taking similar action. Pasco has enacted a permanent ban, West Richland and Richland are considering bans, and Prosser -- home to the region's lone legal pot shop -- has instituted a temporary ban on any additional pot businesses. The Walla Walla County Commission voted 2-1 Tuesday to ban all recreational pot operations in the county's unincorporated areas.

Timothy Dalton of the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership said his organization favors a ban because pot-related businesses could drive away family-friendly enterprises and cast the area in a bad light.

Lorna Runge and other residents said emphysema, bronchitis and a host of other health problems are caused by smoking marijuana, a contention disputed by advocates.

Residents also said voters on the west side of the Cascades that legalized marijuana, not those in Eastern Washington.

State Rep. Brad Klippert has personally seen the damage pot has done to families in his role as a law enforcement officer, he said.

"Thank you for pushing back," Klippert said. "I'll push back with you."

Proponents of pot-related businesses said a ban will only seek to grow the black market for marijuana, leading to more gang issues and violence.

That also could make it easier for children to get access to it, because they generally get it from friends rather than their legal-aged parents, they said.

"By banning sales, you're saying you don't want this regulated or monitored," David Morgan said.

The city would miss out on potential tax revenue and is subjecting marijuana to a community standard not applied to substances such as alcohol and tobacco, proponents said. One woman representing one of the pot retailers approved to operate in Kennewick by the state said she would file a lawsuit if businesses are banned.

Young said the law is still unclear and none of his conversations with other government officials around the state indicate the city would get any of the tax revenue from pot sales.

"There's a lot of confusion on it," he said.

The city would get the money from the business licenses of pot-related businesses, but that is "chump change" compared with the expense of amending city codes and providing services, Young said.

Also at the meeting, Trumbo introduced a proposal to institute prayer at the beginning of council meetings. Conducting a prayer would be consistent with the concepts of the nation's founding fathers, he said. A recent court ruling determined that prayer at city meetings in a small town in New York state is permissible.

"Prayer helps create the proper attitude and sense of seriousness," Trumbo said.

The proposal calls for the prayer to be no more than 90 seconds long, be given by a volunteer, that others present at the meeting be respectful during the prayer, and that the prayer specifically reference the deity mentioned in documents written by the founding fathers.

The proposal will be handed over to the city's budget and administration committee for review.

-- Ty Beaver: 509-582-1402; tbeaver@tricityherald.com; Twitter: @_tybeaver; Google+: +TyBeaverTCHerald

This story was originally published September 2, 2014 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Kennewick bans all pot businesses."