Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/02/2017

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Zoning Bulletin September 25, 2017 I Volume 11 I Issue 18 Citation: Peyote Canyon, LLC v. County of Benton, 2017 WL 3189719 (Wash. Ct. App. Div. 3 2017) WASHINGTON (07/27/17)—This case addressed the issue of whether interim zoning under Washington's Planning and Enabling Act requires an emergency measure. It also addressed whether a specific interim zoning ordinance, which declared a moratorium on marijuana production in a county zoning district, was sufficiently supported by findings of fact supporting an emergency. The Background/Facts: After Washington voters approved Initia- tive Measure No. 502, legalizing recreational marijuana use, the Board of Commissioners (the "Board") in Benton County (the "County") adopted a policy allowing marijuana to be grown in certain zoning districts of the County, including "rural lands 5 (RL-5)." Jerry Van Zuyen ("Van Zuyen") owned land in an RL-5 zone (the "Property") through his business Peyote Canyon, LLC ("Peyote Canyon"). Van Zuyen applied for a "tier 3 marijuana producer license" for production at that Property in the RL-5 zone. While his license application was pending, he began modifying a pole building at his Property (originally permitted as a residential garage) and erecting an eight -foot high fence. After complaints from area residents, in May 2015, the County sent Peyote Canyon a notice that it had violated the County Code by not obtaining a building permit for the fence or a change of use permit for modifications to the pole building. Thereafter, Peyote Canyon submit- ted building permit applications for those structures. The County responded by identifying additional items that needed to be addressed before the pe wits could issue. While the County was corresponding with Van Zuyen d/b/a Peyote Canyon with regard to the building permits, the County was also field- ing concerns from area residents about "the incompatibility of a marijuana production operation with existing uses in the RL-5 zone." On May 12, 2015, without prior notice, the Board considered and unanimously passed Resolution 2015-357, adopting an emergency ordinance, Ordinance 561. The resolution described Ordinance 561 as "an immediate emergency interim zoning amendment to prohibit the production of marijuana in the [RL-5] District." "The resolution set a date for a public hearing, established a termination date for the interim zoning amendment, declared an emergency, and temporarily amended a prior ordinance and county code provision." In addition to making findings, the ordinance recited the county's decision that "it is appropri- ate to prevent additional marijuana growing operations in the RL[-]5 District that allegedly are incompatible with surrounding uses during the period of time necessary for the County to consider permanent zon- ing amendments." On June 2, 2015, the Board conducted the required public hearing on © 2017 Thomson Reuters 3