Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Social Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local social‑equity applicants press case as pastors and neighbors raise public‑health concerns
Summary
Two social‑equity awardees and industry professionals spoke in favor of local opportunity and job creation, while a pastor and other residents warned of mental‑health and youth exposure risks; the council heard both sides before directing staff to draft a narrowly tailored ordinance.
Two applicants and local industry professionals urged the council to approve opportunities for social‑equity retailers, emphasizing local ownership, jobs and community reinvestment.
Zachary Fairley, who said he is "one of the owners of Compass Cannabis LLC," told the council, "We chose Pasco because this is our community. We live here. We work here. Our families are here." He said his group has secured a lease at the former Green to Go at 5804 Road 90 and asked for the chance to build a locally owned business.
Other supporters, including Steve Corito, said they would run "clean professional" operations and offered community contributions such as donating portions of sales to youth programs at the Martin Luther King Center.
Speakers opposing expansion included Adam Bonas, lead pastor at Grace Church Tri Cities, who raised public‑health concerns and cited high‑potency cannabis research: "High potency cannabis is linked to an increased occurrence of psychotic episodes, schizophrenia." Bonas urged the council to maintain the current code rather than adding more retail outlets.
Council members heard both perspectives during the public‑comment period and incorporated that input into their direction to staff: prepare ordinance language that prioritizes a social‑equity applicant for any additional slot and include guardrails (for example, a population trigger) for future expansions.
