The Bethel Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve a necessary permit for what could become Bethel’s third marijuana store.
The commission passed the conditional use permit on July 15. The proposed store, called Good Vibes, would be located along Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, across the street from the fire department. Two men from Bethel would own the store: Brian Glasheen and Alex Wasierski. Wasierski serves on the planning commission and recused himself from voting on the permit.
The marijuana store would be located in a residential neighborhood, though its location along the highway is zoned general use. The application states that the property would have a 6-foot tall, chain-link fence with green slats around three sides of the property. The fence would serve to separate the store from the neighborhood and would require pedestrians to approach the store using the highway entrance, rather than cutting through neighboring lots.
“We’re trying to be good neighbors to everybody. It’s very important to us that we don’t get any complaints,” Wasierski said.
No members of the public spoke for or against the permit. Bethel Planning Commission chair Kathy Hanson suggested that the owners build a fence taller than 6 feet around the property.
“Six feet, and then there’s some snow, and then you can just hop over the fence," Hanson said.
Wasierski and Glasheen said that they were open to the change, but the commission did not require an amendment to the permit application.
The planning commission’s recommendation to approve the conditional use permit for the proposed marijuana store will be sent to Bethel City Council for consideration.
City of Bethel Planning Director Ted Meyer said that he is working with another person to develop a separate application for what could be an additional marijuana store in Bethel. This one would be located in the convenience store Q2 Quick Foods along Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Alex Wasierski's last name. The spelling has been corrected.
