§ 21.50.420. Conditional use standards—Marijuana retail sales establishments.

A.

Licenses required.

1.

All marijuana establishments are required to obtain a license from the State of Alaska Marijuana Control Board, and a license from the municipality of Anchorage, before beginning operations.

2.

If at any time either the state license or the municipal license is suspended or revoked, the establishment shall immediately cease operations, until such time as both required licenses and the land use approval are valid.

3.

Licenses from the municipality of Anchorage shall be issued in accordance with chapter 10.80.

B.

Conditional use permit required.

1.

All marijuana retail sales establishments are permitted only by conditional use. Such conditional use shall only require the approval of the assembly in accordance with section 21.15.030. The provisions of section 21.15.005 which pertain to notice and public hearing shall apply.

2.

Notwithstanding the submittal requirements in section 21.15.030, applications for conditional use permit for a marijuana retail sales establishment shall contain the following:

a.

A site plan to scale and dimensioned, depicting the building footprint, parking areas, vehicle circulation and driveways, pedestrian facilities, lighting, landscaping, loading facilities, freestanding sign location(s), required open space, snow storage area or alternative strategy, trash receptacle location and screening detail, and fences.

b.

A floor plan to scale and dimensioned, depicting the entirety of the licensed premises, its arrangement of rooms, and relation to all other uses located within the same building.

c.

A security plan indicating how the applicant will comply with the requirements of municipal and state law and regulation. The security plan is not required to show location or placement of security cameras and areas covered by them.

d.

A waste disposal plan.

e.

Evidence of neighborhood responsibility planning, as required in subsection C.8. below.

3.

The planning department shall prepare and submit an analysis of the application with respect to the use-specific standards below, the conditional use standards of section 21.50.020, and requirements of title 10, and list of all marijuana retail sales establishments located within 1,000 feet of the subject location. The department shall also submit a proposed resolution for assembly consideration.

4.

In determining whether to grant, deny, or impose conditions on a conditional use permit for a marijuana retail sales establishment, the assembly shall not take into consideration the sum paid by any person to acquire the license or prepare the establishment. The assembly shall only approve the conditional use if the assembly finds the standards of section 21.50.020 have been met, as well as considering if the owner/operator of a marijuana retail establishment has meaningfully engaged in neighborhood responsibility planning with residents and other neighborhood businesses to mitigate concerns such as odor, parking, and security. Neighborhood responsibility planning guidelines may be included in AMC chapter 2.40. The assembly may impose such special terms and conditions or modify existing conditions governing operation of the establishment as are in the public interest and are consistent with the purposes of this title.

5.

An application for conditional use under this section that has been denied by the assembly shall not be accepted for rehearing for a period of one year following such denial, if the municipal clerk finds the proposed conditional use application is substantially the same as that denied by the assembly, and if no substantially new evidence or change in circumstances has occurred. This subsection shall not apply to an application filed under assembly direction at a hearing at which a like application was considered.

6.

Conditions of conditional use permits issued under this section are enforceable under the provisions of this title. The assembly may revoke a conditional use permit for failure to comply with conditions of the permit, provided a public hearing with notice to the owner affected is first held.

7.

Notwithstanding section 21.10.025, the Assembly shall hear and decide applications for variances from the provisions of this section 21.50.420 as part of an application for a conditional use for marijuana. The application must state with particularity the relief sought and must specify the facts or circumstances that are alleged to show that the application substantially meets the following standards:

a.

Granting the variance does not violate state law or regulation.

b.

Granting the variance will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property in the area.

c.

The variance is necessary due to some particular condition of the property that is not present in most properties or for most similar applicants.

d.

The variance is the minimum variance necessary to allow reasonable use of the property.

e.

The hardship is not self-imposed, special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant, and such conditions and circumstances do not merely constitute inconvenience or an undesirable financial burden.

C.

Use-specific standards for marijuana retail sales establishments. All marijuana retail sales establishments shall meet the following standards:

1.

Separation from protected land uses.

a.

In addition to the other methods for measuring the separation distances as set forth in this subsection, all marijuana establishments shall be separated from the protected land uses listed in subsections 1.c. below by at least 200 feet, as measured via a straight line from the lot line of the marijuana establishment to the lot line of the protected land use. Applicants who have initiated a State of Alaska marijuana license on or before January 1, 2017, are exempt from this provision.

b.

Additionally, all marijuana establishments shall be separated from schools (items 1.c.i., 1.c.ii., and 1.c.iii. below) by at least 500 feet, as measured via a straight line from the lot line of the marijuana establishment to the closest lot line of the school. Applicants who have initiated a State of Alaska marijuana license on or before January 1, 2017, are exempt from this provision.

c.

Additionally, all marijuana establishments shall be located at least 500 feet away from the following uses:

i.

Boarding school.

ii.

Elementary or middle school.

iii.

High school.

iv.

Playground.

v.

A housing facility owned by a public housing authority.

vi.

Child care center.

vii.

Homeless and transient shelters.

viii.

Habilitative care facilities.

ix.

Dedicated Parks in zoning districts established for Chugiak-Eagle River in chapter 21.10.

x.

Community centers.

xi.

Neighborhood recreation centers.

xii.

Religious assemblies.

xiii.

Correctional institutions.

xiv.

Athletic fields.

xv.

Correctional community residential centers.

d.

All marijuana establishments shall be located at least 100 feet away from video arcades with at least ten arcade machines.

e.

The separation distance required in subsections 1.c. and 1.d. above shall be measured by the shortest practicable pedestrian route from the main entrance to the proposed marijuana establishment to:

i.

The closest lot line of a school (for applicants exempted from 1.b. above), child care center, neighborhood recreation center;

ii.

The edge of a playground or athletic field (including abutting parking lots); and

iii.

A main public entrance of the building containing any other use listed above.

2.

Prohibited with alcohol license. A marijuana establishment shall not be allowed in the same establishment as a use that holds a state alcohol license.

3.

Prohibited with residential use. A marijuana establishment shall not be allowed on a lot that contains a residential use other than a caretaker's residence.

4.

Inspection of premises. All premises of all marijuana establishments shall be open at all times during business hours for the inspection and examination by the municipality.

5.

Ventilation. The premises shall be ventilated so that the odor of marijuana cannot be detected by a person with a normal sense of smell at any lot line of the subject property.

6.

Public display of land use approval conditions. Each establishment shall display in a location near the main entrance, and visible to the public in those establishments where the public are permitted, the conditions imposed through the land use approval, using the Conditions Certificate provided by the department.

7.

Permanent structure. A marijuana establishment shall be in a permanent structure with a valid certificate of zoning compliance. No marijuana establishment shall be authorized in a vehicle or trailer, a mobile food unit, a standalone intermodal shipping container (connex unit), or a temporary structure.

8.

Neighborhood responsibility planning. Assembly issuance of special land use permits for marijuana establishments and the related licensing and regulation of marijuana establishments under AMC title 10 require engagement by the community council. The owner/operator of a marijuana retail sales establishment is encouraged to engage in neighborhood responsibility planning with neighborhood residents and other businesses. Where available, this may be done in conjunction with the community council. A copy of an informal memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining the elements confirmed with the community council may be included with the application. In the absence of a MOU, the applicant may include applicant's report on the status of community engagement efforts.

9.

Hours of operation. Establishments shall be closed to the public between the hours of midnight and 8:00 a.m. each day.

10.

Signs. Signs shall comply with state regulation and chapter 21.47. No temporary signs are permitted.

11.

Drive-through prohibited. Establishments shall not have drive-throughs.

12.

Outdoor storage and display prohibited. No outdoor storage or display of products is permitted.

( AO No. 2016-3(S), § 24, 2-23-16 ; AO No. 2016-144(S) , § 3, 1-1-17; AO No. 2017-55 , § 15, 4-11-17; AO No. 2017-175(S) , § 6, 2-13-18)