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Business owner urges Snohomish County to revise 2023 cannabis buffer after store closure
Summary
Patrick Gann, owner of the Mill Creek storefront known as the 4 20 hanger, told the Snohomish County Council his business remains closed after a 2023 code change imposing a 10,000-foot cannabis buffer. He provided a packet of economic-impact data and asked the county to align rules with broader standards.
Patrick Gann, the owner of a Mill Creek cannabis retail storefront he referred to as the 4 20 hanger, told the Snohomish County Council on Feb. 4 that a 2023 zoning change imposing a 10,000-foot buffer on cannabis retail has left his business closed and continues to cause daily tax-revenue losses.
Gann said he provided the council a packet organizing the economic impacts, timelines and documentation related to the code change and that the material had already been provided to the county executive’s office. “This packet documents the economic impacts of my continued closure, tax revenue losses, and timeline showing how this code change occurred,” he said.
Gann argued the 2023 revision is an outlier compared with county practice from 2016 to 2023, during which he said there were no planning records or public meeting minutes showing community concern about cannabis retail in the area and a single retailer operated “without objection.” He said the 2023 change effectively eliminated competition in that location and lacked a proportional policy justification. “When the facts are clear, the harm is ongoing. Delay is no longer neutral. It becomes a decision,” he said.
Tom Sweeney, who identified himself as executive director of Hope Creek and pastor involved with Gold Creek community outreach, spoke in support of Gann. Sweeney described Gann’s charitable activity and contributions to the Mill Creek Community Food Bank, which Sweeney said serves about 600 families per week, and asked the council to “look beyond the paperwork and see the person.”
The council did not take action on the comments during the Feb. 4 legislative session. Public comment closed before the council moved on to a series of resolutions and motions. The meeting recessed until the scheduled 10:30 a.m. public hearing on Feb. 25, when related land-use items may return to the agenda.
Provenance: The account above is based on the public-comment remarks in which Patrick Gann presented a packet and described the economic consequences of his store closure (see transcript segments beginning with SEG 030 and SEG 036) and Tom Sweeney’s subsequent remarks in support (transcript segments beginning SEG 103–SEG 176).
