PASCO, Wash. —
Monday night Pasco City Council voted on whether or not two resolutions should be passed.
Resolution 4327, if passed, meant the Franklin County Auditor’s office would put the resolution on the ballot for the upcoming election.
Resolution 4328, if passed, meant city staff would then amend the current ordinance on where in the city cannabis can be sold.
When did this all begin?
In 2021, the city surveyed Pasco residents to see their stance on cannabis sales. The results showed people were divided on whether or not to allow the sale of cannabis.
In October of 2022, an overall consensus of the city council decided to move forward, repealing the restrictions on cannabis sales.
January 9th and 17th, 2023, City council adopts a resolution, Resolution 4303 which would allow retail cannabis sales in the Industrial Zoning District if retailers had a conditional permit.
*Those zones are labeled I-1, I-2, I-3, C-1, C-2 & C-3 on the map below.
However, restrictions on where and how close pot shops can be to schools and parks are another consideration.
On February 21, 2023, Resolution 4303 was rescinded by council meaning the use of conditional permits to allow pot shops was revoked.
Fast forward a month, on March 6th, the issue was placed on the advisory ballot. This mean a second resolution was in the works.
The second resolution would create the ordinance that shows the commercial and industrial zoning district.
Today
Now that city council has passed Resolution 4328, city staff must create the ordinance and present it to the council before officially passing.
However, many people attending the meeting on Monday share their thoughts on why there should and shouldn’t be pot shops in Pasco.
Michael Graham is a co-owner of two cannabis businesses in Benton County. He says Pasco is historically known for thriving on its agriculture and with cannabis growth, the local economy would benefit immensely.
“It’s time for Franklin County to get on board and I think they should be on board, on the agricultural side of it too. With a huge agricultural history that Pasco is known for and survived on for decades.” says Michael. “Cannabis and cannabis export is going to be the next big thing for them.”
Meanwhile, residents like Lawanda Hatch are concerned about the education behind what pot shops sell.
She says a lot of cannabis products are often in candy looking packaging and for younger kids, they may think it’s candy and eat something they shouldn’t.
“To educate schools. Educate parents to help them understand that they can never let their children eat candies, packaging looks exactly except for a certain little mark on them.” says Hatch. “They look identical so how are the parents and children going to know?”
Monday night, city council voted 4-3 to pass Resolution 4328, now city staff is drawing up the new zoning areas for the city. However, cannabis still can’t be sold in the city.
What’s next?
Jon Funfar with the City of Pasco tells me the resolution is simply an idea and suggestion from the council. The public makes a comment. It gets voted on. When it’s an ordinance, it’s similar to becoming the law for the city.
As of now, the ordinance itself has not passed. The resolution to make an ordinance is what has passed.
Once staff, the ordinance is presented to them and it comes to a vote. If passed, it’s then implemented by the city of Pasco.
The official on when the ordinance will be presented has not been set or decided.
