Yakima County receives 26 applications for pot businesses

Nov. 27--YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima County so far has received 26 applications for state licenses to produce, process or sell marijuana, according to the state Liquor Control Board.

There were just two applications for retail licenses, one from a natural foods store on Main Street in Union Gap and another from a business hoping to locate on Selah Loop Road outside Selah.

There were 14 applications for marijuana growing and 10 for marijuana processing, but some of those are overlapping because the state allows dual applications for both producer and processor licenses. Seven businesses applied for both producer and processor licenses.

(See a map and chart of the license applications at the bottom of this article.)

The Union Gap natural food store and a Yakima business named Wild West Growers that applied for producer and processor licenses are the only applicants located in incorporated areas. The rest were in unincorporated areas outside cities and towns.

Mary Van De Graaf, owner of Mill Creek Natural Foods in Union Gap, said she applied for a marijuana retail license because she believes marijuana has benefits beyond recreational use.

"I'm not looking for druggies," Van De Graaf said. "I am looking at it from a natural medicinal side."

Applicants for producer and processor licenses also list addresses west of Yakima, as well as others near Sunnyside, Tieton, Mabton, Outlook, Toppenish and Zillah.

Yakima County currently has a moratorium in place that would prevent marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas from opening until April, but the county has the option to extend the moratorium and county commissioners haven't said whether they'll pursue a ban.

The county is awaiting an opinion from the state Attorney General's Office on local jurisdictions and their ability to effectively opt out of the marijuana legalization law.

"We haven't gone into a whole lot of consideration of a ban at this point," Commissioner Kevin Bouchey said.

The cities of Yakima, Union Gap, Selah, Moxee, Sunnyside and Toppenish have all approved moratoriums preventing marijuana businesses from opening.

The city of Yakima is drafting an ordinance that would ban such businesses. That proposed ordinance is expected to have enough council votes for approval. Tieton passed an ordinance in 2012 that effectively banned marijuana businesses.

Van De Graaf said she isn't entirely certain she will even sell marijuana if she is given a state license. She said she's also unsure if Union Gap will eventually impose a ban or if the owner of the building she leases would allow her to use it for that purpose.

State law would also require Van De Graaf to only sell marijuana products in her store, which she has owned for two years. Van De Graaf has owned another health foods store in Sunnyside for the last 11 years, but doesn't intend to apply for a marijuana license for that location.

The state announced earlier this year it will grant 14 retail licenses in Yakima County. If more than 14 apply and are deemed qualified after the application deadline ends, the state would use a lottery to decide who gets the 14 marijuana retail licenses.

Each application comes with a nonrefundable $250 fee. Licensees will have to pay a $1,000 annual renewal fee, possess commercial liability insurance and pay additional fees for background checks and filing for local business licenses.

The application period closes Dec. 19, but the state can extend the deadline or reopen the application window at its discretion.

The state has strict guidelines that require retail stores to be at least 1,000 feet away from a school, church, playground or other public gathering space such as a recreation center or library. Mill Creek Natural Foods is located on the south end of Main Street near the U.S. 97 interchange.

"It's an income opportunity and I figure someone has got to do it," Van De Graaf said. "So why not me?"

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