HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity/County Planning Board Minutes 05.04.2017 MINUTES
LAUREL—YELLOWSTONE CITY-COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
May 4, 2017 10:00 am
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Members present: Kathy Siegrist, President
Dan Koch, City Rep.
Judy Goldsby,County Rep. &Vice-President
Lee Richardson,County Rep.
Hazel Klein, City Rep.
Jerry Williams,Conservation Corps Rep.
Gary Colley, City Rep.
Roger Giese, City Rep.
Others present: Noel Eaton,City Planner
Cheryll Lund, City Secretary
Members absent: Ron Benner, County Rep.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by President Siegrist.
ROLL CALL: Members present were Koch, Goldsby,Giese, Richardson,Colley, Klein,Williams and
Siegrist.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS: A motion was made by Dan Koch and seconded
by Judy Goldsby to approve minutes of the March 2,2017 meeting. The motion carried by a vote of
7-0.
NEW BUSINESS: Public Hearing—Variance Request—LMC 17.20.010 Allowable Uses for Highway
Commercial Zoning, "Medical marijuana dispensary or dispensary".
President Siegrist stated that today the board will be considering a variance request about a medical
marijuana dispensary. She went on to state that this is not about recreational use,gateway drugs,
federal law on marijuana or states that already allow medical marijuana. This is about a business that is
legally defined by Montana law. It is solely about whether this application meets the criteria for a
variance on the zoning as passed by the Laurel City Council in 2011. She went on to state that it would
be greatly appreciate if all comments and discussion were kept to that topic alone.
President Siegrist opened the public hearing at 10:02 am and asked Planner Noel Eaton to present the
application for the variance request.
Noel presented the application and read her staff report to the Board.
DISCRI PTI ON/LOCATION:
Richard Abromeit has applied for a variance. The request is for allowable uses in Highway Commercial
Zoning LMC 17.20.010"Medical marijuana dispensary or dispensary". The property is currently zoned
Highway Commercial which does not allow a medical marijuana dispensary.
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STAFF FINDINGS:
1. THE APPLICANT IS REQUESTING A VARIANCE FROM Laurel Municipal Code 17.20.010 to allow
"medical marijuana dispensary or dispensary" in Highway Commercial Zoning.
2. The property is currently a 24-unit commercial rent or own development. Two 12-unit buildings
are connected by shared walls on the north and south side of the property.
3. In 2011 Laurel City Council changed the zoning code to allow for medical marijuana dispensaries
in Light Industrial Zoning. Medical marijuana cultivation facility or cultivation facility is allowed
in Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial Zoning.
4. A map identifying the property and the letter of application are attached.
5. The applicant included a detailed justification as it relates to LMC 17.60.020.
6. As per the requirements of LMC 17.72.070,a public hearing on the matter shall be held before
the zoning commission before being heard by the Laurel City Council. As per B.of the section,
public notice was published in the Laurel Outlook and adjacent property owners were notified
by certified mail more than 15 days prior to the public hearing.
ZONING COMMISSION CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Zoning Commission shall review and make determinations on the following chapters and sections of
the Laurel Municipal Code(LMC):
1. According to Chapter 17.60.020 of the LMC the Zoning Commission may not recommend
granting a land use variance:
1. Unless the denial would constitute an unnecessary and unjust invasion of the right of
property;
2. Unless the grant relates to a condition or situation special and peculiar to the applicant;
3. Unless the basis is something more than mere financial loss to the owner;
4. Unless the hardship was created by someone other than the owner;
5. Unless the variance would be within the spirit, intent, purpose, and general plan of this title;
6. Unless the variance would not affect adversely or injure or result in injustice to others; and
7. Ordinarily unless the applicant owned the property prior to the enactment of this title or
amendment.
2. As per LMC 17.72.060 the Zoning Commission shall make a recommendation to the City Council
to:
1. Deny the application for amendment to the official map:
2. Grant action on the application for a period not to exceed thirty days;
3. Delay action on the application for a period not to exceed thirty days;
4. Give reasons for the recommendation.
STAFF SUGGESTED CONDITIONS:
If the Planning Board recommends approval of the land use variance,the following conditions are
suggested:
1. The variance shall only be allowed for the applicant and at this location.
2. The variance shall only be allowed for Medical marijuana dispensary or dispensary.
3. The applicant shall apply for a City of Laurel business license.
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APPLICANT:
Richard Abromeit from Montana Advanced Caregivers spoke. He lives at 2705 Sage Spring Circle in
Billings and his business is located at 1101 Maggie Lane in Billings.
Richard stated that in 2011 his partner and the co-owner of Montana Advanced Caregivers,Jason Smith,
attended the Laurel city council meeting and urged council members to please be compassionate with
the state law as it was just starting to emerge. He asked the board to allow medical marijuana in Laurel.
Richard went on to say that because the city council in 2011 went with the Planning Boards
recommendation of allowing medical marijuana only in Light Industrial zoning there are not any areas
available for a medical cannabis dispensary to rent or lease. These areas were already owned by the
railroad, Fox Lumber, and Fiberglass structures and due to the federal regulations within their industry
this prevents them from renting/leasing to a business such as ours.
Richard's business, Montana Advanced Caregivers, is the city of Billings'only licensed marijuana
dispensary. They have been licensed since 2009. Currently they serve over 350 patients within the state
and are the second largest provider of medical marijuana in Montana. They have 20 patients that live in
Laurel that travel to Billings to get their medical marijuana,and another 150 patients in the outlying
areas near Laurel. The governor has SB-333 is going across the governor's desk. He is either going to
veto it or sign it. SB-333 would enact a taxable fee system and put some heavy regulations on larger
providers. Smaller providers don't have to do a lot of the things that the larger providers do.
Richard stated that Montana Advanced Caregivers would provide safe access in Laurel and bring a lot of
foot traffic and shoppers to Laurel.
Richard stated that safety is one of their top priorities.They are good neighbors to the Billings city
operation center which is close to where they produce everything in house from seed to sale with a
commercial kitchen all under one roof. They have never had to call the police.
Richard stated they are in complete ambiguous compliance of state laws. They work with the Billings
Fire Department, Code Enforcement, City council and the Billings Police Department and all
departments have taken a tour of the business.They have allowed the departments to take photos of
every room.
Richard continued to say they are big on safety at the business. They have security cameras and every
customer must be buzzed in to enter the building. Their employees are trained to watch the parking lots
and people's behaviors.
Richard went on to say they do not want medical marijuana to become black market marijuana. If
people are doing those kinds of things in their parking lot they send those people's cards back to the
state and mark them "deference questionable". They also send that information back to DPHHS and
then Montana Advanced Caregivers no longer provides them with medical cannabis. In the 9 years they
have been in business,they have sent back 80—90 cards.
Richard went on to say they are stricter in their process than the state says they have to be. The state
says they can sell an ounce per day. Montana Advanced Caregivers allow their patients to buy one
ounce per week.
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Richard went on to say that they give back to their community in a positive way and donate to many
different organizations. Montana Advanced Caregivers does not charge people for medical cannabis for
terminal cancer patients. This is another way they give back to the community.
Richard has worked and lived in Laurel since 1988. His children went to school in Laurel and he worked
for Montana Rail Link until he had a severe back injury. He was on the Board of Directors for the Laurel
Rod and Gun Club and served on the board for SEG Credit Union. Montana Advanced Caregivers believe
that you give back to a community where you live and work. His business has long set standards and is
not just a pot store.They provide precision based care. He invited the board and audience to come and
take a tour of his business in Billings. Dr. Uphues is the medical doctor at Montana Advanced Caregivers
and does precision based medicine. Dr. Uphues works with each patient on correct dosing so that each
patient can get the best care possible.
Richard introduced Dr. Michael Uphues and asked him to speak.
Dr. Michael Uphues states he lives at 3600 Maritime Drive in Billings, Montana. He has been in practice
for 22 years. He is a board-certified family practice physician and sees patients with all different types of
issues who require different treatments. He has spent most of his years on the Fort Peck Indian
Reservation. He became interested in cannabinoid medicine in 1998 because he had a cancer patient
that was coming down to Billings for chemotherapy treatments and the only thing that would relieve his
symptoms after chemo was using cannabis. The patient was pulled over one time coming home and
they through the book at him for using cannabis. After spending thousands of dollars on lawyers fees he
finally got out of the charges. Dr. Uphues thought that was a very heavy handed way of dealing with a
patient that was that sick and obvious using cannabis for medicinal reasons. Dr. Uphues then did some
research and became certified in cannabinoid medicine in California. The way they treat patients will
vary. It is not a matter of signing patients up with a medical marijuana card so they can go out and just
pick what you like off the shelf. That doesn't happen in his clinic. The way it works is that he prescribes
different doses of pills that contain cannabis to different types of patients with varying diseases. For
patients that are children it works differently and they use a different part of the cannabis plant and a
different dose.
Dr. Uphues stated that no one has ever died from an overdose of cannabis in the entire history of
mankind.Seventy-nine people in this country die every day from prescription overdoses of opiates.
Dr. Uphues stated cannabis was in over the counter products in this country from 1864 to 1941. What
did away with it was the marijuana tax act of 1937 which had more to do with the commercial hemp
industry than medicinal cannabis. Medicinal cannabis got caught in the cross hairs and was then made
illegal.
PROPONENTS:
Jason Smith who lives at 4515 Palisades Park in Billings Montana spoke. He is a co-owner of Montana
Advanced Caregivers.
Jason came to the Laurel city council meeting in 2011 and tried to get the message across that new law
on medical marijuana was passed out of compassion. The air shifted once money was brought into the
scenario. What they are asking for is just a 1500 square variance which is not much unless you are the
predicament where you need that (medical cannabis). He came to Montana thinking it was a get rich
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quick business. But after he helped somebody that had been given 2 weeks(to live)and you spend two
years with that person holding their hand and hugging you can't put a price on that. That 1500 square
feet can make the difference to people. The law was built out of compassion and Montana people
voted for it. The community of Billings accepted their business. His company is built on ethics and they
have been successful because of that.
Brandon Arthur of 501 2' Avenue in Laurel spoke. He supports the variance for the location based on
the proximity of the original ordinance that was placed in 2011 and for the opportunity of this business
to apply for a medical marijuana permit and business license for the city of Laurel.
Richard Giesepie of 77 S. Whitehorse Bench Road in Laurel Montana spoke. He has been at that address
since 1992. Richard's wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 12 years ago and had a tumor the size of a
baseball. They could not get medical marijuana that the oncologist recommended but was not
available. He had to go purchase marijuana illegally. He asked that it be made available.
President Siegrist read a letter of support from James Horning of 101 W. Railroad in Laurel Montana.
(see attachment A).
Jean Lucas who lives at 2705 Sage Springs Drive in Billings Montana spoke. She is Richard Abromeit's
wife and she works in the medical marijuana industry. She is a registered pharmacist in Idaho,
Washington and Oregon. She came from a traditional background as far as medicine goes. Even with
Richard's education she was very skeptical of cannabis because when people talk about it they say"no
way and no how". Now with her education of cannabis she has seen miracles happen everyday and sees
it help people in many ways.This is not the pot that everyone grew up with. It is a medicine and it
should be treated as such. It is not for children and it should be locked up in the medicine cabinet like
every other medication. It is a very useful thing and has helped the community of Billings. She hopes
the board will give them a chance as it will help Laurel's community thrive.
Tami Zeglis of 3600 Marathon Drive in Billings spoke. She has been a nurse in Montana for over 30
years. If you would have told her 10 years ago that she would be helping people obtain medical
cannabis she would have laughed at you. She grew up in the Midwest in a traditional family. She has
seen wonderful miraculous things with cannabis patients. She has seen and done studies with patients
she has given medical cannabis to in nursing homes. She has seen how well patients react to medical
cannabis, especially her cancer patients. They get relief. Parkinson patients don't shake anymore when
they use medical cannabis. It's been a good experience for her.
Tami went on to say that she has study alternative medicine in the past and traveled all over the state of
Montana. She has seen many dispensaries across the state and Montana Advanced Caregivers is by far
the most secure, most strict rules and well run facility. They do not advocate smoking marijuana and
prescribe mostly edibles and capsules that can be measured. She asked the board to contact her with
any other questions. She has business cards.
President Siegrist asked if there were any other proponents wishing to speak in favor of the variance.
There was none.
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OPPONENTS:
President Siegrist asked 3 times if there were any opponents wishing to speak in opposition of the
variance. There were none.
President Siegrist read a letter of opposition from Square One Cabinets located at 210 S.Washington
Avenue in Laurel Montana. (Attachment B)
Noel Eaton stated that the variance request is only for a medical marijuana dispensary and not for
growing marijuana. The zoning does not allow for a grow operation.
President Siegrist closed the public hearing at 10:32 am.
A motion was made by Judy Goldsby and seconded by Dan Koch to recommend approval of the
application for variance along with the staff findings and suggested conditions.
BOARD DISCUSSION:
Gary Colley stated that the building at 204 S.Washington was designed for storage units and not retail
operations. He sees a conflict with there not being enough parking for the business as they need 8
parking spaces to comply with city parking requirements.
Dan Koch asked how the other tenants of the building feel about this type of business.
Noel stated all the tenants were notified by letter and she has not heard any comments back except for
Square One Cabinets at 210 S. Washington.
Noel stated that this property is zoned Highway Commercial property and does allow certain types of
retail businesses. She also stated the parking issue will be reviewed prior to the business receiving a
building permit, if the variance is approved by the city council.
Lee Richardson stated he talked with the owner of the property Dean Rankin regarding the proposed
business. Owners Dean Rankin and Steve Solberg toured Montana Advanced Caregivers business in
Billings and expressed that they were impressed with how well the business is run. Lee also talked with
Rob Harris who manages Fiberglass Structures located across the street and he is not in favor of the
variance. He also chatted with Chief Musson from the Laurel PD and was told that the police department
is only concerned with following state law. Lee went on to say that he knows medical marijuana has a
place for medicinal issues but he is not in favor of approving the variance in that building.
At this time the board discussed the seven (7)criteria in L.M.C. 17.60.020 as it relates to this variance.
1. Unless the denial would constitute an unnecessary and unjust invasion of the right of
property;
All members of the board agree that it meets this criteria.
2. Unless the grant relates to a condition or situation special and peculiar to the applicant;
All members of the board agree that it meets this criteria.
3. Unless the basis is something more than mere financial loss to the owner;
All members of the board agree that it meets this criteria.
4. Unless the hardship was created by someone other than the owner;
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•
All members of the board agree that it meets this criteria.
5. Unless the variance would be within the spirit, intent, purpose, and general plan of this title;
All members of the board agree that this meets this criteria.
6. Unless the variance would not affect adversely or injure or result in injustice to others;and
All members of the board agree that it meets this criteria because there was only one
opponent.
7. Ordinarily unless the applicant owned the property prior to the enactment of this title or
amendment.
All members of the board agree that it meets this criteria because the property will be
purchased by the applicant.
At this time, President Siegrist asked for the vote on the motion to recommend approval with staff
findings and conditions. The motion carried by a vote of 5 in favor and 2 against(Richardson &Colley).
OLD BUSINESS:
• Regal Community Park was approved.
• The annexation of 202 8th Avenue was approved.
• The Special Review for Town and Country located on W. Main was approved.
MISCELLANEOUS:
a) The next meeting will be June 1, 2017 at 10:00 am.
b) Planning Grant to create a Master Plan for Riverside Park.
Noel asked if there were any board members wanting to be on the committee to create a
master plan for Riverside Park. Roger Giese and Judy Goldsby volunteered.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA TOPICS:There was no public comment.
ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn was made by Judy Goldsby and seconded by Dan Koch. The
meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am.
Respectfully submitted,
,AL- 4-'(A-41"-
Chery t Lund,Secretary
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Rapid Tire
101 West Railroad St., Laurel, MT 59044
..
406-628-4604 rapidtire.inc@gmail.com
5/3/17
Planning Board
City of Laurel
Dear Planning Board,
I would like to share with you my support of Rich and Montana Advanced Caregivers. I
believe there is a place and a need for medical marijuana in our community.
In the fall of 2014 my wife was diagnosed with AML. Thankfully she is cancer free today
but her fight has continued in the form of graft versus host disease. She has struggled with
chronic pain throughout her battle. She has begun the process to be allowed to purchase
medical marijuana for her pain because the medications prescribed by her doctors have
proven ineffective. Throughout her journey we have met many people fighting the same
fight. For some of them medical marijuana has been a blessing that has allowed them to
regain a more normal life..
Montana Advanced Caregivers has been a part of the Billings business community for many
r'ears. Why not Laurel? Please give Rich the opportunity,
Sincerely,
Rapid Tire
Akt Ch/l/M1-- /1-
•
SQSquare One Cabinets
210 South Washington Ave
- - Laurel, MT 59044
Ph: (406) 628-8443 I Fax: (406) 628-8878
April 26, 2017
City of Laurel
City County Planning Board
115 W First Street
Laurel, MT 59044
Re: Zoning Variance for Medical Marijuana Dispensary
I received your letter stating a zoning variance has been requested for a medical
marijuana dispensary at 204 South Washington Avenue.
I am against this zoning variance because of security concerns resulting from this
type of business. We have outside material storage and I am concerned that if
this business is allowed, the security for the neighborhood would greatly diminish.
The letter states that the variance is for a medical marijuana dispensary but I feel
that the next step would be medical marijuana growing operations. Where does it
end?
I realize that this area is a commercial area, but unless the City of Laurel is
prepared to provide increased security at their expense, such as street lights and
increased police patrols, I don't feel that this variance should be approved.
Sincerely,
Geo geG har -a
Presiders