Lynnwood staff present draft retail cannabis rules, planning commission backs larger buffers

City planning staff on Sept. 2 presented a draft ordinance that would allow retail cannabis stores in Lynnwood’s City Center, Alderwood, Planned Commercial Development, General Commercial and Highway 99 Mixed Use zones, and outlined buffer, signage and licensing limits the council will consider.

The ordinance text before the council follows state definitions and Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board requirements and, as drafted, includes a 300-foot minimum buffer from some restricted entities that the Planning Commission recommended, and a 1,000-foot buffer specifically from planned playgrounds that are identified in an adopted capital facilities plan or secured by a council-approved site-specific development agreement.

Planning staff said the Planning Commission landed on a 300-foot minimum after hearing community concerns — especially about the Alderwood Boys & Girls Club — and after members concluded a 100-foot buffer in some places (effectively “across the street” on Highway 99) did not feel protective enough. Staff stressed the draft applies only to retail cannabis (not production or processing) and that distance is measured property-line to property-line under the proposed methodology.

Why it matters: the buffer and planned-park language would affect where retailers can locate near properties the city has legally…