Outback Bud Company is the first business in Jefferson County to be issued a state license to grow and process marijuana under I-502.

According to county records, Mark and Tracy Williamson of Poulsbo were approved Sept. 9 for a change-of-use permit for the property at 71 Eisenbeis Ave. off Otto Street in the Glen Cove Business Park area. A change-of-use permit for an 8,400 square-foot warehouse on the property was issued Sept. 10.

According to county records, the property was previously owned and used by a company called Northwest Electric Apparatus, Inc.

The Williamsons have been approved for a tier 2 producer license, which allows them to grow a plant canopy of anywhere between 2,000 and 10,000 square feet. The Leader's attempts to reach the Williamsons for comment have been unsuccessful.

LICENSES

As of Tuesday, Sept. 30, 235 producer applicants of some 2,600 had been approved and licensed throughout the state, while 22 applications had been closed.

As for some 1,908 processor applicants, 191 had been approved and licensed, while 16 had been closed. Of 2,166 retail applicants, 61 had been approved and licensed, while 3 had been closed.

In Jefferson County, two retail marijuana stores are open for business.

Most recently licensed is Herbal Access Retail at 661 Nesses Corner Road in Port Hadlock, though that store has yet to open for business due to a lack of dependably available product.

Sea Change Cannabis, at 282332 U.S. Highway 101, opened July 25. That store has been forced to close temporarily at times dues to a lack of available product.

MORATORIUM

A six-month countywide moratorium on permitting of marijuana growing and processing businesses went into effect Aug. 11. That moratorium limits those businesses to three areas – agricultural, forestry and industrial. As a result, such businesses are not allowed in rural residential areas.

Commissioners adopted the moratorium in response to Department of Community Development (DCD) staff concerns about the size and potentially conflicting nature of some legal I-502 marijuana businesses locating in area zoned primarily for residences.

Since October 2013, the county has applied its existing land-use and zoning rules to marijuana businesses, allowing growers to set up in any area without a land-use permit and requiring a cottage industry permit for processors in most areas.

A public hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6 in the Cotton Building at 607 Water St. in downtown Port Townsend. Up until that hearing, public comments may be sent to jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us or to the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners at 1820 Jefferson St., P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368.