State Law Will Probably Change At 2011 Legislature, Commission Says

COUNTY TO USE CURRENT ZONING RULES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Flathead County commissioners decided against pursuing changes in
county zoning regulations with regard to medical marijuana, for now,
saying any action taken at this point may be rendered obsolete if
state law changes at the next Legislature.

The decision came after county Planning and Zoning Director Jeff
Harris presented the commission at an April 15 meeting with his
interpretation of how growing and dispensing medical marijuana fits
into current zoning regulations.

Growing medical marijuana is considered an agricultural use, Harris
said, and dispensaries are similar to pharmacies, which are allowed
in several zoning designations. "Home Occupation" designation is
also possible, he added.

There has been a need for such interpretation, Harris said, because
his office has received several inquiries about how such practices
align with zoned areas of the county.

Harris said the cities in the Flathead Valley could end up
displacing most medical marijuana activities into the unincorporated
county and noted that the commission may want to consider how to deal with it.

Currently, Whitefish and Kalispell have moratoriums on dispensaries
within city limits and Kalispell may ban them outright because the
state law legalizing the practice conflicts with federal law.

Columbia Falls does not have a moratorium in place and treats
medical marijuana dispensaries like any other business endeavor.

With the moratoriums in place, any new medical marijuana shop would
have to set up in either the county or Columbia Falls, Harris said.
He asked the commission if they wanted to consider putting more
sideboards on the zoning regulations by adding performance standards
for dispensaries, such as restricting them to a certain distances
from schools, parks or churches.

The commissioners, however, questioned whether such an amendment
would be in vain. State law could change during the 2011
Legislature, they said, creating more specific rules for
dispensaries. A 2004 voter initiative legalized medical marijuana Montana.

"Like it or not, the public voted it in," Commissioner Jim Dupont
said. "We could make all kinds of (regulations), but what good is it
going to do? It's not going to stop it, it's not going to prevent it."

Commissioner Dale Lauman bemoaned the lack of legislative oversight
on medical marijuana because it left too many unanswered questions
for city and county governments to deal with.

Since growing medical marijuana is legal, Commissioner Joe Brenneman
said it would be useless to try to put in dispensary location
standards for Flathead County because zoning amendments take months
to develop and may be rendered moot after lawmakers meet in January.

"The fact is that a year from now there probably will be change,"
Brenneman said.

The commission told Harris that the existing zoning definitions
would be sufficient to handle dispensary inquiries for the time being.

Harris said he interprets growing and cultivating medical marijuana
as similar to agricultural uses listed in the zoning regulations.
Dispensing medical marijuana is sufficiently similar to the
prescription drugs dispensed by drug stores or pharmacies, Harris
said, which fits into at least three business zone designations as
well as others.

But since most grow operations are contained within a greenhouse or
a home and do not require full fields, Harris said licensed home
growth would be permitted in almost all zones under "Home Occupation" use.

Home occupation businesses require a notarized certification that
they meet seven performance standards, which includes limits on
outdoor storage, nuisance regulations on noise, dust, smoke and
odor, vehicle traffic, hazardous byproducts and increased utility use.

Unzoned areas, which make up about two-thirds of the county, are
fair game for any use, Harris noted.

The commissioners said they needed to have more in-depth discussions
on the matter and would need further consideration of all options if
there were to be zoning changes in the future.