WASILLA -- Marijuana entrepreneurs in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the state's reputed pot-growing capital, will have little time to get up and running before voters decide whether or not to back a commercial ban.
The borough assembly on Tuesday night delayed a decision on a new permitting system for marijuana businesses. But it's the combination of the state's licensing schedule and a pending ballot initiative to be decided in early October that's causing the time crunch.
Pot-related companies will probably be selling products for a few weeks at best before Mat-Su residents vote Oct. 4 on a proposal to outlaw commercial marijuana operations -- grows, testing labs, retail dispensaries -- throughout the borough except for those involving industrial hemp. The vote applies to all areas outside the cities of Palmer, Wasilla and Houston; Palmer and Wasilla already have bans in place.
The state Marijuana Control Board isn't expected to start approving cultivation and testing licenses until June, with retail and product manufacturing facility approval not anticipated until September.
Realistically, that means the first green offerings won't be on the shelves until less than a month before the election and processed items like edibles or concentrates perhaps not until a few days before at the earliest.
Mat-Su Borough Attorney Nick Spiropoulos told the assembly during a meeting Tuesday night that his office has received several notices from the state about license filings from businesses in the Valley and wants to make sure they're aware of the prohibition being considered in the election.
"It's going to be our legal position that you do not get grandfather rights for a criminal act," Spiropoulos said.
At least some Mat-Su business owners are planning to open early with non-cannabis products.
But a lot of others are having trouble finding investors willing to front the startup funds given the uncertain climate in the Valley, said Sara Williams, CEO of a company called Midnight Greenery, who also serves as chair of the borough's marijuana advisory committee. Williams said Midnight Greenery does plan to open early, though she's struggling to find a location.
"A lot of people are waiting," she said. "Or they're flocking to Houston."
Houston residents last year voted to allow commercial marijuana production and sales. But last November, the council passed a moratorium on accepting and processing business licenses until local laws can be adopted. The moratorium extends through November unless it's repealed sooner.
Meanwhile, any local regulations on the borough level remain in flux.
The borough assembly on Tuesday delayed action on a new permit process for marijuana cultivation and retail businesses. The assembly continued until March 15 a public hearing on an ordinance calling for a conditional-use permit that, among other things, would require businesses to stay 1,000 feet away from schools and churches and also 100 feet back from streets, sidewalks and property lines.
Boroughwide ban initiative backer and former borough mayor Larry DeVilbiss has asked the assembly to make any regulations effective after the election.
Several people looking to open marijuana businesses urged the assembly not to put off implementation, saying they want to demonstrate to the public what legal pot looks like before they head to the polls.
"We're going to knowingly take this risk," said Joe McAneney, who's planning a retail store in Talkeetna. "Because without it we're going to have nothing to show for the people that might be on the fence or might not be convinced yet."
The setback provision proposed as an amendment to regulations triggered opposition from numerous people testifying at Tuesday night's hearing, during which two presenters brought marijuana or edibles to the podium when they spoke -- one a container of buds and the other, Williams said, a package of blue-raspberry lozenges.
Borough planners say the property setback reflects the borough's lack of zoning.
The original recommendations came from the borough marijuana advisory committee that then passed through the planning commission for approval. Planning commissioners said they specifically wanted to keep cannabis businesses out of residential areas, according to Alex Strawn, the borough's development services manager.
The borough is unique in its lack of zoning in the form of commercial or industrial areas, Strawn told the assembly Tuesday. "We don't have that luxury."
Planning staff developed the setback to keep cultivation facilities, which tend to trigger odor complaints, out of residential areas, he said.
Clint Tuma testified Tuesday that a Willow property he bought in October was the only one that met state requirements between Wasilla and Talkeetna for the state marijuana cultivation and concentrate manufacturing licenses he's applied for. Tuma said he built according to state regulations but the proposed borough setback came as a surprise.
"The only thing I can't meet is that 100-foot property line," he said. "I think it's just completely ridiculous when you're in a rural area to have to come up with these kind of restrictions."