On the eve of the application period for marijuana businesses, it appears the locations for them downtown may be limited.
Under regulations approved by the state Dec. 1, businesses must be 500 feet from schools, churches, jails, and recreational or youth centers.
Two Southeast towns larger than Haines – Sitka and Petersburg – say such buffer zones don’t work in their cities, where commercial districts extend just a few blocks.
Those communities have appealed the state’s rules on buffer zones. The state’s buffer may also be an issue for Skagway. Municipal clerk Emily Deach told the Alaska Dispatch News that the buffer limited areas for the businesses there to a “few slivers of land.”
The issue appears to have been overlooked by a Haines Chamber of Commerce committee working on marijuana legalization issues. Chairman Thom Ely said this week his understanding was that the buffer applied only to distances from schools.
“We didn’t really look at the details of that wording. We didn’t try to figure out where (businesses) would go,” Ely said this week. “We discussed in general where people would have a retail establishment or a cultivation facility.”
Ely acknowledged the buffers could be a stumbling block for people hoping to set up a commercial cannabis business downtown, although he said he thought there are areas in the borough that could meet the buffer requirement.
The Petersburg Pilot reported in December that the buffer was an issue for members of its municipal Marijuana Regulation Advisory Committee.
“This is totally unacceptable to have our whole entire downtown area (blocked) if we want to regulate and keep an eye on things; dispensaries and pot shops and clubs should be right on Main Street where they can be seen,” committee member Nancy Strand said in the Pilot story.