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West Linn staff brief council on marijuana-facility prohibition and revenue options
Summary
City staff told the council that West Linn remains among a small number of Portland-metro cities that prohibit marijuana facilities; staff outlined legal history, state revenue-distribution rules, and rough local revenue estimates and recommended preliminary public outreach before any repeal decision.
City staff on Tuesday reviewed West Linn’s longstanding prohibition on marijuana facilities and outlined the limited, but tangible, revenue the city could receive if it repealed that prohibition.
Dylan, a city staff presenter, told the West Linn City Council that the prohibition dates to a 2016 voter referral after Measure 91 and implementing legislation. "In 2016, council passed ordinance 16-44, which referred a marijuana facility prohibition to the voters," Dylan said, adding that the packet included a typographical error on the implementing state bill number; staff corrected it to HB 3400. He said cities that do not ban facilities are eligible for a share of state marijuana revenue and can also adopt an additional local tax on recreational sales.
Why it matters: West Linn is one of a small number of cities in the Portland metropolitan area that still ban retail marijuana; staff told council that repeal would immediately make the city eligible for the state's per-capita shared distribution and, if the city licensed facilities, additional shared and local tax revenue.
Dylan presented staff’s revenue scenario: "If we were to repeal our marijuana prohibitions, the revenue possibilities are, about $40,000 per year from the state shared per capita distribution, which is about dollar 50 per resident," he said. Staff also estimated a per-license distribution (state shared) of about $2,500 annually and the possibility of roughly $30,000–$60,000 per licensed facility annually if the council enacted the maximum 3% local tax; staff emphasized those are wide ranges that depend on facility sales and some estimates are constrained by disclosure agreements.
Council reaction was cautious but curious. Councilor Groner noted the map in the packet showed a limited number of sites inside West Linn where a dispensary could be sited because of school-setback rules, quipping that technically a dispensary could be sited near City Hall if all setbacks were met, and said the potential revenue is "leaving money on the table" compared with neighboring Oregon City.
Several councilors recommended public outreach before any formal change. The city manager and staff described several outreach tools (online surveys, utility-bill mailers, and the city newsletter) and the council asked staff to prepare an informal outreach plan and return with options. No policy decision or vote was taken; staff will return with outreach materials and legal clarifications if the council directs further consideration.
Provenance: topic introduced SEG 165; discussion examples and revenue numbers SEG 246–261; legal/time/place/manner explanation SEG 572–579.
