Deschutes County, Ore. – A permit hearing was held Tuesday for what could be the first retail marijuana storefront in unincorporated Deschutes County, bringing with it, some upset neighbors and parents.
At the beginning of December, Redmond resident Kelly King filed an application for a retail marijuana facility on the first floor of the building at 21280 Tumalo Place, to the north of Bend’s urban growth boundary. The hearing was to determine whether King’s request for a conditional use permit and a site plan review would be granted.
The 29-acre parcel which is zoned for commercial use, is a two-story vacant pink building, just north of the Three Sisters Adventist Christian School, a private Christian school owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. During the hearing, which drew about 75 people, several teachers and parents of students attending the school spoke out about a business that they claimed is not in line with the school’s values, in addition to being in close proximity to the school.
The hearings officer said citizens can continue to add new written comments to the official record until 5 p.m. May 5. From there, the applicant and appealing parties have until May 11 to respond to new evidence, and the applicant will have an additional week after that to submit new arguments.
