BEND, OR -- The city of Bend is working toward developing regulations surrounding commercial marijuana operations. City Manager Eric King says there are more than a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries in Bend, many of which intend to offer early recreational sales allowed October first.
He says City Councilors will spend the next month working with stakeholders to create appropriate guidelines prior to that date. "We talked about some potential regulations that we’d like to include on spacing requirements for marijuana facilities, including distance from existing facilities as well as distance from schools, parks, libraries. Really, the concern with council is making sure that marijuana outlets are not near where kids might be," King tells KBND. "Ensuring that we’re really aligning toward some type of intent; what are we trying to accomplish through that. So, we’re also looking at not only placement, but also what we call ‘time and manner’ - when these facilities are open – odor issues and display. We’re digging a little deeper into that and we’ll most likely have something in the next couple of months." Councilors have also expressed concerns about industrial land being used for growing pot.
King says it’s been difficult to gauge what type of rules are needed on the local level, when the state has yet to release its regulations. "And, they’ve got to go through a process and so we didn’t want to duplicate anything they’re doing. Really, our role is to fill a gap. Where they’re at a pretty high level, at a local level we have an opportunity to really fine-tune what’s important for Bend."
