6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
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DEBRA BLOOM
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JOHN D. BRUIJN
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CARL EARL
Systems Manager
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
The long road to cannabis in Cannon Beach
E
xhale.
The wait is finally over.
More than three years since the
passage of Oregon’s Measure 91 legalizing
recreational cannabis, Cannon Beach saw its
first retail dispensary open without fanfare in
December.
In an elegant wood-frame building with
matching interior decor, customers can pick up
flowers, edibles, concentrates
and pre-rolls. Described
alternately as a “craft can-
nabis dispensary” and “your
Pacific Northwest premium
provider,” shoppers at Five
Zero Trees are invited to
choose between Blue Dream,
R.J. MARX
Poochie Love, Magic Durban
Poison or dozens more.
Oregrown, a little more than a block to the
north, is likely to be the second to open its
doors.
What took so long?
Measure 4-179
Despite several licensed cannabis dispensa-
ries in Astoria and Seaside, one in Manzanita
and one in Wheeler, Cannon Beach residents
came late to the game.
When Oregon voters — including 63
percent of residents of Cannon Beach —
approved the retail sale of recreational pot in
2014, they gave communities the ability to opt
out.
A petition signed by 155 residents brought
prohibition to the ballot in November 2016.
The threat of denial was enough to stall
would-be cannabis retailers, even as neighbor-
ing communities saw a surge in activity.
In the interim period before the vote, city
councilors restricted marijuana sales to three
separate commercial zones.
Under the ordinance, retailers could
operate downtown from Ecola Creek south to
Washington Street, midtown from Harrison
Street south to Elliot Way and in Tolovana
Park from Delta Street south to the Sandcastle
condominiums. Cannon Beach voters also
approved a 3 percent local tax on recreational
marijuana sales to support public safety.
Meanwhile, Measure 4-179 to ban marijuana
sales in Cannon Beach failed in November
2016 by a 51 percent to 49 percent margin.
The narrow vote was enough to give entre-
preneurs the green light.
Starts and stops
Sam Chapman of New Economy
Consulting appeared before the City Council
in 2016 announcing his intention to open a
dispensary but never applied for a business
license. Through his company, he continues to
focus on advising entrepreneurs and investors,
as well as consulting for political campaigns.
A planned dispensary at 3115 S. Hemlock
St. abandoned its land-use application after
Brenna Visser/The Daily Astorian
Five Zero Trees
Employees Travis Flagel, Josh Jensen and manager Josh Cisco stand at the counter at
Five Zero Trees.
Five Zero Trees has dispensaries in Can-
non Beach, Astoria and Portland.
a rejection by the Design Review Board in
August.
Owner Daryl Bell, who owns dispensaries
in Lincoln, Coos and Tillamook counties,
went before the Design Review Board to seek
approvals for his proposed Tolovana dispen-
sary. Bell provided plans for exterior building
and landscaping upgrades, but the board asked
for a more detailed plan for the property.
Bell proposed exterior painting, window
modifications and landscaping ideas, but the
board wasn’t satisfied. Bell was granted a con-
tinuance and asked to return in October with
revised plans.
When he failed to appear or submit revi-
sions, his application was rejected.
Nancy Benson, operations manager of PPC
Holdings, said in late December that changes
requested just weren’t worth it and they did not
intend to pursue the application.
ing-challenged Cannon Beach.”
Councilors voted 3-2 to maintain the
ordinance, which prohibits marijuana stores
in mixed-use buildings to adhere to the
community’s desire to keep marijuana out of
residential areas.
The building meets the city code for a mar-
ijuana store because the residents have since
moved out and it is no longer mixed-use.
In a November memo to the mayor
and councilors, city land use attorney Bill
Kabeiseman wrote: “While some might find
that marijuana facilities are fully consistent
with having a strong ‘quality of life,’ the ques-
tion of how to implement the vision statement
is a policy question for which the City Council,
informed by the voters, has the final authority.”
City ordinances do not violate provisions
of the comprehensive plan — particularly the
values of fostering community, small-town
atmosphere and a sense of safety — “merely
because they allow for marijuana facilities in
the city.”
Although the city could choose to interpret
the provisions as the opponents of the mari-
juana facility suggested, nothing in the com-
prehensive plan mandates such an approach
and the city has not violated its comprehensive
plan in allowing marijuana facilities in the
downtown area, Kabeiseman wrote.
The topic will likely arise during the
re-evaluation of the comprehensive plan as
part of the city’s strategic planning.
“Cannabis is a substance that can transcend
all genders, religion, lifestyle — it brings
different values to different people,” Five Zero
Trees co-owner Case Van Dorne said in June.
“If we can provide this experience in a safe
mechanism, that’s fulfilling.”
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South
County reporter and editor of the Seaside Sig-
nal and Cannon Beach Gazette.
Oregrown
Last summer, store owner Abbas Atwi sold
the building at 215 South Hemlock — home to
the Purple Moon Boutique for 14 years — to
Justin Crawn, Aviv Hadar, Kevin Hogan and
Hunter Neubauer of Oregrown Industries.
Described as “Oregon’s premier farm-to-
table vertically integrated cannabis company,”
the four men, each in their early 30s, founded
their company in 2013 with the goal of setting
the bar for the emerging recreational market in
Oregon, according to Cascade Business News.
Oregrown’s flagship store in Bend opened
as a medical dispensary about four years ago.
The owners said they wanted to expand
their business to Cannon Beach because of its
natural beauty, which meshes with the compa-
ny’s Oregon outdoors lifestyle brand, they told
the Cannon Beach Gazette in July.
Their No. 1 priority is to go through proper
channels to make sure it will fit in with the
aesthetic and the culture of the town.
Last summer, the Design Review Board
approved Oregrown’s request to modify
signage, door color and window display
restrictions.
Oregrown has a marijuana retail license
from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission
for a dispensary in Bend but not in Cannon
Beach.
Until they receive commission approval —
a process described as backlogged for months
— they await licensing as the city’s second
retail cannabis dispensary.
Owners are hoping for spring.
“Oregrown is incredibly excited to bring
our authentic lifestyle brand to Cannon
Beach,” Oregrown’s Amanda Moore said.
“Many of us grew up learning how to surf
on the Oregon Coast.”
Moore said Oregrown is hoping to have a
soft opening in place by the beginning of April.
“We really cannot wait to bring a taste of
Oregrown to our home away from home.”
Future challenges?
Even with two shops planned and more
likely, opponents of retail dispensaries in the
downtown area say the pot shops are not com-
patible with the city’s goals.
Five Zero Trees summer opening into the
former location of the home decor and design
store Fruffels at 140 S. Hemlock St. was
delayed after the Ecola Square Homeowners
Association, spearheaded by David Frei,
sought a denial of their business license, citing
concerns about the application process and
inconsistencies with the city’s comprehensive
plan.
Frei argued approving Five Zero Trees
at the Hemlock location would take away a
mixed-use building with three apartments,
“eliminating apartments in affordable hous-
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