Wishful entrepreneurs looking to sell marijuana for recreational use in Pullman could do so as early as June.  

The Pullman Planning Commission’s draft regulations, unveiled last week, outline where marijuana retail stores can conduct business. For Pullman, there are 11 candidates who have applied for recreational marijuana retail licenses. There will be up to three facilities, but they won’t exist downtown.

“The retail facilities would be allowed in what we call the C3 general commercial zone,” said Planning Director Pete Dickinson.

As emphasized by the State Liquor Control Board, a 1,000-foot buffer zone recognizes the existence of schools, daycare centers and parks, which would restrict the locations of recreational marijuana shops.

“It’s not the downtown area and it’s not the commercial zones located up on College Hill or Colorado Street area but all the outlying commercial areas on Grand Avenue, East Main Street and Bishop Boulevard,” Dickinson said.

Processing and production facilities have been suggested to exist in industrial zones near Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories on the north side of Pullman, Dickinson said.

The proposed 6,000 square foot size limit of marijuana retailers created debate among the planning commission.

Commissioner Chris Clark expressed his conflict with the recommended size, saying it would be unlikely to see three 6,000-foot marijuana emporiums in the city.

“You’re limiting the size of the facility by parking requirements,” Clark said.

Commissioner Liza Morris preferred 4,000 square feet as the maximum size for marijuana retailers partly because 6,000 square feet is too large for the Pullman community.

“I just don’t want a Shopko for marijuana,” she said. “Potentially, just for the size and scale of our community, I would be more comfortable at least, starting out with a little bit smaller as maximum size.”

Dickinson and city staff decided that a 6,000 square feet limit would be suitable to incorporate into the draft regulations

 “When we wrote in there the 6,000 square feet, I was thinking that might be a little bit large,” he said.

Dickinson reiterated what the commissioners discussed, explaining that the market should gradually dictate any change in square footage.

“I think a reasonable limit is good because of the nature of this business,” Dickinson said. “This is sort of an experiment.

The Planning Commission agreed on 6,000 square feet as the appropriate size limit for marijuana retail facilities.

Dickinson will go before the City Council at a future date, where they will either adopt or reject the draft regulations.