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Deb Williams <br /> From: Richard Ek <richard@ekandek.com> <br /> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2018 4:15 PM <br /> To: Deb Williams <br /> Subject: CB 1804-18 <br /> Mrs. Williams <br /> I would like my comments to be made known to the Everett City Council as I cannot attend the May 16th meeting. <br /> In my opinion, the council's reasoning for not having a buffer between retail marijuana shops and churches is specious. <br /> The council's argument is that it would be impossible to label a church as a "sensitive area" because anyone could come <br /> forward and claim to be a church because they hold a bible study in their home. <br /> The only defense against specious reasoning is good common sense and knowledge of human nature. <br /> Anyone with common sense knows which buildings in the city are churches. If you drive/walk by any Catholic building, <br /> Lutheran building, Methodist building, LDS building,Jewish or Buddhist temple or Seventh Day Adventist building,you <br /> know it's a place of worship.The structures are unmistakable. It has a pastor/minister/bishop, rabbi and a congregation <br /> of hundreds that park in the lot on Saturdays,Sundays and other days of the week. Such churches must apply for a <br /> building permit and go through other steps in order to build a structure to house a congregation. <br /> Basing the decision to avoid having any buffer between churches and retail marijuana shops on the idea that "anyone <br /> can claim their home is a church" is a flimsy excuse for ignoring the facts that the Council and the Planning Commission <br /> demonstrated a lack of common sense and, in my opinion, fear of lawsuits that may arise because of their earlier <br /> decision to permit a retail marijuana shop less than 100 feet from a well-known church that has been at 9505 19th Ave SE <br /> since 1980. <br /> It is sad and disappointing to know that the Everett City Council is more focused on money than on the lives of their <br /> constituents. It is frustrating to attend and speak on matters in front of the council and get the impression that the <br /> minds of members were already decided on the issue, that they are going through the motions of listening to citizens <br /> because the bylaws require it. <br /> Richard Ek <br /> 13831 51st Dr. SE <br /> Everett, WA 98208 <br /> 425-478-2000 mobile <br /> Sent from Mail for Windows 10 <br /> 1 <br />