About 20 Clearview residents turned out at a Snohomish County planning meeting to push back on a citizen-initiated amendment that would open the door for a second marijuana retailer roughly a mile from the area’s lone shop, The Kushery. Neighbors told county officials the proposed change would undo protections that have kept dispensaries from clustering along State Route 9 and urged planners to keep the current separation rules in place.
The amendment would cap marijuana retail locations in the Clearview Rural Commercial (CRC) zone at two and cut the county’s rural separation distance between stores from 10,000 feet to 5,000 feet. According to Snohomish County Planning and Development Services, the proposal would also clarify the county's nonconforming-use rules and spell out that separation is measured from property line to property line.
The petition was filed by J&L Properties of Washington, which points to a vacant building in the CRC as the motivating site and identifies the SR‑9/180th Street SE corridor as the proposed location near The Kushery. The Snohomish County Tribune reports the committee heard from both supporters and opponents, while a transcript summary compiled by ZoneWire shows roughly 20 speakers and notes that the Planning and Community Development Committee referred the docket to the county’s General Legislative Session for further consideration.
What residents worry about
Neighbors argued Clearview already has an unusual concentration of marijuana retailers along a short stretch of Highway 9 and raised concerns about traffic, youth exposure and the small-town character of the commercial strip. One resident put it bluntly for county staff: “Pot stores are not candy stores,” according to KIRO7.
County process and next steps
County planning staff issued a SEPA Determination of Non-Significance and circulated the proposed code changes for public comment in May, and the docket materials outline how the amendment would move through the county’s Comprehensive Plan docket process. County public documents state the proposal will be evaluated for consistency with growth-management rules and the county’s adopted policies, according to Snohomish County.
Legal status and the Hangar 420 fight
The Clearview dispute overlaps with a separate court fight involving Hangar 420, a retailer that opened at SR‑9 and 180th Street and later faced county enforcement. A Snohomish County Superior Court judge ordered Hangar 420 to pause services while the licensing and zoning dispute proceeds, as reported by the Snohomish County Tribune. County docket materials also note that reducing separation distances and clarifying nonconforming-use rules would allow previously established retail uses to operate again in the CRC, which is a key reason applicants and some business advocates support the amendment, according to Snohomish County Planning and Development Services.
For now, neighbors and business owners are bracing for more hearings and potential council action. Proponents argue the changes would restore local economic opportunity, while opponents insist the current buffers help protect rural character. Local coverage of the meeting by Seattle Red noted the sharp split in public comment.
