Lake Oswego Starts Looking at if it Becomes Legal to Sell Pot Where Should it be Allowed

While Lake Oswego currently bans the sale of marijuana, that could change this November.

And the city wants to be prepared in case voters overturn the ban.

On Monday, the city's planning commission held a first work session to study the issue of, if it becomes legal to sell marijuana in Lake Oswego, what kind of restrictions should their be on when and where?

"The purpose here is to look at the zoning issues, the location questions and the land use impacts," Lake Oswego Planning and Building Director Scot Siegel told the commission.

Siegel added that the commission's role will just focus on the land use issues and not have anything to do with topics like taxation and law enforcement.

The city will examine what kind of buffer areas there should be around schools, whether retail and grow operations can be in the same facility, and what other areas - such as places where children gather - should be off limits.

When Oregon legalized the use and sale of recreational marijuana in 2015, a clause was included that if a city in a county where more than 55 percent of voters approved of legalization, the city would have to refer the issue to the voters in a ballot measure.

That is what will happen in Lake Oswego in November.

The commission will meet again to discuss the issue on April 11.