The Kirkland City Council has adopted interim regulations to control marijuana odor in anticipation of new businesses moving into the city.

The six-month ordinance prohibits marijuana odor from being detected beyond the premise and requiring growers and business owners to install ventilation systems.

The interim ordinance will allow the city staff to draft permanent zoning code amendments concerning retail marijuana and manufacturing within the areas already permitted.

Planning director Eric Shields said while the city has not yet approved a business license from a marijuana grower or retail store, they took action after citizens contacted them about similar problems occurring in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is also legal.

Before they obtain a city business license, marijuana businesses must receive a marijuana license from the State Liquor Control Board. In May, one such business filed an application at Totem Lake.

Shields said the city has, for now, taken a reactive stance to the changes caused by legalizing recreational marijuana in the state because their staff is mostly devoted to working on the comprehensive plan as part of its  “Kirkland 2035” initiative.

“It has been challenging, and it’s challenging in part because it’s not something we had planned on staffing up for,” he said. “We’ve been in the midst of our comprehensive planning update. If we get into this would we discover other things we haven’t anticipated right now? At this point in time we’ve been a little more reactive than proactive.”

Putting interim regulations in place for the next six months, he said, would allow staff the time to create more permanent zoning codes that could be put into place sometime next year, allowing them to focus for now on Kirkland 2035.

In September, the council voted to extend the interim regulations for retail marijuana for another six months. Previously, they voted to prohibit marijuana businesses from opening up in the Norkirk, Moss Bay and Everest neighborhoods and light industrial zones where 50 percent or more of the zone’s boundaries are with commercial zones. In March, the council imposed a moratorium on marijuana stores in the Market Street Corridor and other neighborhoods like Norkirk after residents complained about the potential impact on traffic and crime.

Properties that are located next to the designated Kirkland School Walk Routes are also exempt from having marijuana shops.

More information about Kirkland’s interim zoning regulations for the retail sale of marijuana can be found at www.kirklandwa.gov/marijuanainkirkland.