Changes to Grant Co. marijuana regs coming in July

May 5—EPHRATA — While some licenses have been issued to multiple entities, as of April 25 the unincorporated areas of Grant County have 117 active licenses for marijuana producers and 29 for marijuana processors. There are 57 tax parcels in the unincorporated areas where people are producing or processing marijuana, according to data that Grant County Development Services personnel obtained from the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Development Services Deputy Director Jim Anderson-Cook said the information did not include retail locations, since those usually are located in urban (and therefore incorporated) areas.

Anderson-Cook said that just counts licenses.

"In some instances, the same license (was) issued to up to three entities," he wrote in response to a question from the Columbia Basin Herald.

Grant County Commissioners established a moratorium on new marijuana operations in July 2023 and renewed it in January.

Under existing regulations, marijuana production is allowed in unincorporated sections of the county zoned as urban heavy industrial and urban light industrial within urban growth areas. Outside of urban growth areas, it's permitted on lands zoned for agriculture and as rural resource lands, and properties zoned as rural light industrial and rural heavy industrial.

Marijuana production, processing and retail shops are prohibited in dwellings or a building attached to a dwelling. Facilities must be within a building or rigid greenhouse, except in areas zoned for agriculture, urban heavy industrial or rural remote. If they're outdoors they must be at least 100 yards from a property line, except in the urban industrial zone. They also have to be at least 500 yards from any off-premises residence, and any residential zoning district. They must be at least 1,000 feet from any parcel containing a public park. There are also regulations for lighting and fencing.

Development Services personnel are working on establishing updated regulations for marijuana production, Anderson-Cook said.

"Currently there are not any draft amendments available and are still in process," Anderson-Cook wrote.

Any proposed changes will be released in July, Anderson-Cook wrote, during the public comment phase of the zoning amendment process.

Because the amendment process isn't finished until Dec. 31, the moratorium will be extended through the end of the year, Anderson-Cook said.

The moratorium was established in response to an increase in requests to relocate marijuana operations to Grant County in summer 2023, said Commissioner Rob Jones in an earlier interview.

"All of a sudden, we were getting four or five (production facility) requests to transfer into Grant County every week," Jones said.

Grant County had relatively few regulations, he said. That led to concerns over where and how growing operations were being established, along with other issues like water use.

"We're basically trying to put our code and regulations together," he said. "They're trying to get a good grip on what we want to see happen."

The moratorium prohibits new marijuana facilities from starting business in Grant County.

"The moratorium is hereby renewed prohibiting within all areas of unincorporated Grant County the establishment, relocation or licensure of facilities, properties or businesses involving the production or processing of recreational marijuana and marijuana-infused products," according to the ordinance. .

"While said moratorium is in effect no building permit, occupancy permit, other development permit or approval, or business license shall be issued for any of the purposes or activities set forth above," according to the ordinance.

Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug under current federal regulations, but Biden Administration officials have proposed reclassifying it as Schedule III. Schedule I drugs are designated as substances that have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency website. Schedule III drugs are defined as substances with a moderate to low potential for physical or psychological dependence, the DEA website said.

The change would not mean marijuana would be legalized for recreational use. The proposal has not yet been approved.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.