On Wednesday night the Kenai Peninsula Borough Marijuana Task Force finalized two recommendations to present to the Assembly.
Task Force Member Ron Long proposed an ordinance for the group to review, regarding permitting for commercial marijuana establishments. After numerous amendments, members unanimously finalized the recommendation, with one big change being a 1,000 foot radius from marijuana establishments to school parcels of the Kenai Peninsula.
Long: “When you can get a unanimous vote on as diverse of a board as this, on potentially as contentious of a topic as this, I think we’ve done good work.”
Long says increasing the school buffer from the state’s 500 foot radius requirement is important in order to stay compliant with the federal government’s Cole Memorandum in order to avoid unnecessary trouble with the feds.
The task force members also unanimously agreed to provide a memo of support for the inclusion of marijuana businesses in the Local Option Zoning ordinance that will see a public hearing February 2.
Gilman: “It’s not targeted towards marijuana businesses but this does give, if people are concerned about this type of commercial activities, it does give neighborhoods the ability to say well we just don’t want this in our neighborhood. And then we don’t have to consider a ban over the entire borough and I think that’s a better choice.”
The task force’s two recommendations will be introduced at the February 2 meeting.