A. A marijuana retailer authorized by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board and the city to operate within the city shall be sited a minimum of one mile from another similarly authorized marijuana business.

B. A marijuana retailer business shall be sited a minimum of 1,320 feet from any properties zoned and utilized for single-family residential or multifamily residential land uses.

C. All marijuana-related businesses shall not be located within the distances identified for the following uses or any use included in Chapter 314-55 WAC now or as hereafter amended:

D. Measurement. All separation requirements shall be measured as the shortest straight line distance from the property line or right-of-way line of the proposed business location to the property line or right-of-way line of the use specified in this section. (Ord. 6957 § 1 (Exh. A), 2024; Ord. 6642 § 30, 2017.)

A. Areas Where No Retail Marijuana Uses Are Located. If two or more marijuana retail applicants seek licensing from the state and propose to locate within less than one mile of each other, the city shall consider the entity that is licensed first by the State Liquor and Cannabis Board to be the “first-in-time” applicant who is entitled to site the retail use. First-in-time determinations will be based on the date and time of the state-issued license or conditional license, whichever is issued first. The director or designee shall make the first-in-time determination.

B. First-in-time determinations are location-specific and do not transfer or apply to a new property or site, unless the new site is within the same tax parcel.

C. Ownership. The status of a first-in-time determination is not affected by changes in ownership.

D. Relocation. Relocation of a retail store to a new property voids any first-in-time determination previously made as to the vacated property. The determination shall become void on the date the property is vacated. Applicants who may have been previously denied a license due to a first-in-time determination at the vacated property may submit a new application after the prior first-in-time determination becomes void.

E. Discontinuance. If an existing marijuana retail use is discontinued or abandoned for a period of six months with the intention of abandoning that use, then the property shall forfeit first-in-time status. For purposes of this section, discontinuance shall not mean a legal change in business name or ownership or Washington State Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number. Discontinuance of a licensed retail use for a period of six months or greater constitutes a prima facie intent to abandon the retail use. Intent to abandon may be rebutted by submitting documentation adequate to rebut the presumption. Documentation rebutting the presumption of intent to abandon includes but is not limited to:

F. Accidental Destruction. First-in-time status or cessation is not affected when a structure containing a state-licensed retail outlet is damaged by fire or other causes beyond the control of the owner or licensee; provided all necessary local, regional, state or other permits and approvals are successfully obtained and redevelopment commences within 12 months from the documented date of the accidental destruction or the licensee provides documentation demonstrating why redevelopment cannot commence within 12 months; provided, that redevelopment is completed within 24 months of the documented date of accidental destruction.

G. Marijuana-related businesses that had lawfully obtained all state and local approvals prior to the adoption of these rules shall be considered legal conforming uses even if the business is unable to meet the standards for geographic separations and square footage requirements outlined in this chapter. (Ord. 6957 § 1 (Exh. A), 2024; Ord. 6642 § 30, 2017.)

A. Marijuana production and processing facilities shall comply with the following provisions:

B. Any marijuana producer or marijuana processors operating within the city (1) shall strictly comply with all industrial, health and safety codes, including but not limited to WAC 314-55-104 and RCW 69.50.348, and (2) shall have at least 4,000 square feet of building utilized for its individual business, and the total square feet of all marijuana producers and processors in the city shall not exceed 90,000 square feet of building space; provided, that any such business that was licensed and existing prior to August 1, 2016, that did not have at least 4,000 square feet of building utilized for its individual business may continue operating, and shall be classified as a fully legal conforming use at its current location even though it did not have at least 4,000 square feet of building utilized for its individual business. (Ord. 6957 § 1 (Exh. A), 2024; Ord. 6642 § 30, 2017.)

A. A minimum of one public review meeting shall be conducted by applicant for any marijuana-related business in the city. The purpose of the public review meeting is to allow adjacent property owners (residential and nonresidential) and adjacent business owners an opportunity to become familiar with the proposal and to identify any associated issues. The public review meeting is intended to assist in producing applications that are responsive to the concerns of adjacent property owners (residential and nonresidential) and adjacent business owners and to reduce the likelihood of delays and appeals. The city expects an applicant to take into consideration the reasonable concerns and recommendations of these parties when preparing an application. The city expects these parties to work with the applicant to provide reasonable concerns and recommendations. The requirements of this section shall apply to new businesses as well as businesses that are seeking to relocate to a different tax parcel.

B. Prior to submittal of an application for any marijuana-related business, the applicant shall provide an opportunity to meet with adjacent property owners (residential or nonresidential) and adjacent business owners within whose boundaries the site for the proposed marijuana-related business is located or within the notice radius to review the proposal. The applicant shall not be required to hold more than one public review meeting provided such meeting is held within six months prior to submitting an application for one specific site.

C. Public review meetings shall occur prior to submitting a formal business license application to the city of Auburn.

D. Public review meetings shall occur after the required pre-application conference with the city of Auburn.

E. The applicant shall hold a public review meeting in a publicly accessible location within one mile of the proposed business site; provided, that if no such place is immediately available, the applicant may submit a written request to the director proposing an alternate meeting location and the director may approve said location, in writing. The meeting starting time selected shall be limited to a weekday evening after 6:00 p.m. or a weekend at any reasonable time and shall not occur on a national holiday. The meeting shall be held at a location open to the public and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A portable sign at least 22 inches by 28 inches in size with minimum two-inch lettering shall be placed at the main entrance of the building where the meeting will take place at least one hour prior to the meeting. Such sign will announce the meeting, subject matter of the meeting, and announce that the meeting is open to the public and that interested persons are invited to attend. This sign shall be removed by the applicant upon conclusion of the meeting.

F. The applicant shall send by regular mail a written notice announcing the public review meeting to the director, property owners pursuant to the most current public records of the King County assessor’s office or Pierce County assessor’s office within 1,320 feet on all sides of the property involved in the anticipated application and to all current businesses registered with the city of Auburn within 1,320 feet on all sides of the property involved in the anticipated application. At the request of the applicant, and upon payment of the applicable fee, the city will provide the required mailing lists for property owners and/or registered businesses.

G. Not less than 20 calendar days prior to the public review meeting, the applicant shall post a notice on the property which is subject of the proposed application. The notice shall be posted within 50 feet of an adjoining public right-of-way in a manner that can be read from the right-of-way. The notice shall state that the site may be subject to a proposed marijuana-related business, the type of marijuana-related business in sufficient detail for a reasonable person to ascertain the nature and type of business, the name of the applicant and the applicant’s telephone number and electronic mail address where the applicant can be reached for additional information. The site shall remain posted until the conclusion of the public review meeting.

H. At the public review meeting, the applicant shall describe the proposed application to persons in attendance. The attendees may identify any issues that they believe should be addressed in the proposed application and recommend that those issues be submitted for city consideration and analysis.

I. At the public review meeting, the applicant shall take notes of the discussion on the proposed application.

J. To comply with this section, an applicant shall submit the following information with the business license application:

K. If responses to the meeting notice were not received by the applicant and no one attended the public review meeting or persons in attendance made no comments, the applicant shall submit evidence as indicated above, with the notes reflecting the absence of comment, attendance, or both.

L. Failure of a property owner or business owner to receive notice shall not invalidate the public review meeting proceedings. (Ord. 6957 § 1 (Exh. A), 2024; Ord. 6642 § 30, 2017.)