There’s a bit of a turf war going on with pot shops in Snohomish County.
Some folks in the Clearview neighborhood are pushing back against a new shop — claiming it violates county law.
“Pot stores are not candy stores,” one resident said.
People living in Clearview are urging members of the Snohomish County Planning and Community Development Committee to keep the Hangar 420 pot shop from opening along SR 9.
“Our Clearview community could not be clearer to our elected officials and county officers about our opposition to reducing the distance between pot stores,” said one resident during a public meeting with the committee Tuesday.
Many neighbors are pleading with the county to adhere to a rule, approved in 2023, calling for a 10,000-foot buffer zone between cannabis stores in rural areas.
Patrick Ghan, the owner of Hangar 420, moved into the location early in 2025 and was briefly open for business until an injunction forced a closure because of the buffer zone.
Now, he’s pushing for the county to cut that buffer zone to 5,000 feet.
“This issue is about whether government should be allowed to change rules behind closed doors in a way that benefits one existing operator while preventing fair competition everywhere else,” said Ghan.
For now, the Hangar 420 spot stays closed because another pot shop, The Kushery, is just a mile down the road.
“I don’t think that somebody should be rewarded for not following the rules. Patrick just opened up – he knew that it was not allowed,” said Josh Shade, owner of The Kushery.
Shade says it’s not about eliminating competition, adding that he operated for about 10 years out of the same building and when he moved out, others looked to move in, but didn’t.
“I told them that nobody can open. Most didn’t believe me. They looked themselves and they called me back up and they go ‘ok we can’t open’ – they followed the rules,” said Shade.
The committee did not vote on the issue and will next hold a public hearing, expected in late June.