Washington council hears first reading for proposed adult-use dispensary at 2691 Centennial Drive as neighbors object

City staff on May 4 presented a first-reading ordinance to allow an adult-use dispensing organization to operate at 2691 Centennial Drive if the council approves a special-use permit.

City Administrator Fagan Chu summarized recommended limitations staff has been collecting for the ordinance: restricting exterior signage to the southwest side of the building, adding landscaping and a transitional buffer, removing words or plant depictions from exterior signage, and placing any sales-tax proceeds from the facility into a property-tax relief program rather than the general fund. Chu said he had circulated suggested restrictions and the city attorney would add them to the draft ordinance for the next meeting.

The presentation prompted extensive public comment. Don Leach, who identified himself as a long-time Washington resident and former pastor, urged the council to reject the proposal and suggested a public vote, saying the community’s "wholesomeness" could be harmed by a dispensary in town. Cindy Leach, a former schoolteacher, objected to the proposed site west of McCluggage—near neighborhoods—and urged staff to reexamine zoning, enforcement and outreach to recovery ministries.

Council members asked the applicant and staff a series of operational questions the record shows were answered in writing and by staff during the meeting: expected delivery frequency (one per week with possible increase), employees’ age and training (employees 21 and older; managers promoted from experienced staff and trained on compliance), and ID/entry scanning at the door. Chu told the council that staff would work with the city attorney to add the suggested restrictions to the ordinance language ahead of the second reading.

Several council members and staff also highlighted the city’s existing regulatory limit: under the city’s ordinance adopted in 2019, only one dispensary is allowed in Washington, a point made to discourage concerns about multiple facilities clustering in town.

Because this was a first reading, the council did not take a final vote on the special-use permit at the May 4 meeting. Staff said a second-reading vote is expected at the next regular council meeting, when the ordinance language will include any ordinance-specific restrictions the council directs the city attorney to insert.

What happens next: the ordinance moves to a second reading with the suggested restrictions included for council consideration. If the council approves on second reading, the city would adopt the conditional-use permit and staff would publish the ordinance and implement any regulatory conditions (hours, signage, buffer, enforcement) spelled out in the final text.