Medical marijuana sparks neighborhood uproar
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POLSON — A gray building across the street from Southshore Veterinary Service doesn’t look ominous, but its contents are causing quite a stir in the neighborhood.
Marijuana is being grown as part of a medical marijuana operation in the building at 35647 South Hills Drive, according to Lake County Commissioners, and local residents are not happy with their new neighbors. But a property zoning issue may solve the problem for residents like South Hills Homeowner’s Association president Dennis Lewis, who fears the presence of marijuana in the neighborhood will cause an increase in burglaries, assaults and other criminal activities and a downgrade in property values.
When Lewis heard through the grapevine that the new owners of a building near the entrance of the South Hills neighborhood planned to run a medical marijuana business, he contacted the county commissioners, who confirmed the property is zoned as “highway commercial.” That means only certain uses of the building are allowed, and “all land uses not specifically permitted are prohibited,” Lake County Planning Director Joel Nelson said.
The issue is confusing though, because not only are county officials not sure what this particular business entails, but city and county codes regulating businesses don’t address medical marijuana growth and production. Nelson said he’s waiting on a response from the building’s owner — which appears to be an LLC — to find out exactly how the property is being used. Once it’s determined what’s actually happening in the building, the county planning department will try to classify the operation under county codes. If medical marijuana is being cured and processed in the building, the business might fall under a tobacco stemming and drying code or a botanical drug manufacturing code, Nelson said. Both of those types of operations fall into an industrial, not commercial, classification, and the property in question isn’t zoned for industrial purposes.
After a preliminary investigation into the matter, Commissioner Paddy Trusler said the owners appear to be running a “medical marijuana repackaging business.”
If that’s the case, zoning would most likely be an issue, Nelson said, but the building’s owner could still apply for a special use permit. Such an application would be subject to public review, and the city/county planning board would have to approve a permit.
“First, we need to determine what exactly is happening there,” Nelson said. “If it’s determined that they’re engaged in an activity that’s prohibited … (the Lake County Planning Department) would write a letter requesting zoning compliance within a given time frame.”
If zoning compliance issues don’t force the marijuana business to shut down, Lewis and other neighbors say they’re prepared to fight to keep pot out of their neighborhood, whether it’s part of a legal operation or not. At an emergency meeting of the South Hills Homeowners Association Sept. 27, attended by 10 of 31 households in the association, members agreed to circulate a petition to send to the governor’s office against having a medical marijuana facility in their neighborhood.
“All I’m concerned about here is protecting our children, protecting the public — (a medical marijuana business is) going to bring dirtbags in,” Lewis said.
He’s not against “giving a (medical marijuana) prescription to anybody who’s in pain,” but feels that medical marijuana is out of control in Montana. And as a former criminal investigator with the Department of Defense, Lewis said he’s seen the effects of controlled substances on communities.
“I hate to see something like this happen, because I know what it’s going to do to the community,” he said.
“I’m not against (marijuana use) if it’s for the medical reason, but here in Montana it’s not controlled at all, and I don’t want it by my house,” added neighbor Myra Lehman.
